getting started...

OK, there's so much to do, just getting the idea clear in my head for beginners!

The Cafe is a relatively new part of the space.

Originally --the building seemed perfectly suited to be the home of the Pathways afterschool arts program for middle school youth, then the idea was to grow the program to be multi-generational and allow for collaboration between the elders and the 12-15 year olds to co-create artforms of their choosing: poetry, drama, sculpture, painting, dance. Then there is the idea to add studio space for artists to come, actively create and sell their work to help generate an income stream. The idea of having something like Menlo Park's Artist Guild Studios/tearoom/gardens http://www.alliedartsguild.org/ would be perfect!

Then there is reality. The 80+ year old building needs to be gutted, the land surrounding it needs to be cultivated after having the soil tested. Consultants hired to look at the best usage of space, how to make it GREEN and then totally cool for teens to want to hang out it.

The organic garden can be a youth development program in itself. There is the actual labor, but also the cooking of the harvest, sharing it, selling it, learning how to best use the land to generate the most veggies. The learning process from planting to meal prep is so analogous to these teens seeing how they have the power to create such beauty and healthy lives!

So, looking to put together an advisory council, to collaborate with the City, the School District, local universities, architecture students, social work practicums, youth development gurus, and artists of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds...I'm ready to look at financial plans of setting up a nonprofit with sustainable income streams, or a for profit with a social entrepreneurial mission.

thoughts????