Seeds of Hope cafe helps Westmont Junior High students ‘build a connection’

WESTMONT – It's 7:45 a.m. on a Thursday, and Jocelyn Leon Alvarez pulled a couple of hair ties and colorful pipe cleaners from her binder. She was on a mission to help her best friend, Andrea Dominguez, change her up-do to make it more fun and wild for crazy hair day – a taxing feat before the first bell. The two seventh-graders took over a corner table on the second floor of Westmont Junior High's media center, home of the innovation space.

For Alvarez and Dominguez, they considered this space special. Every other morning, the pair would head for this spot to hang out. A small cafe sits on the far end of the room. The funky, neon green decor led to a hand-drawn black and white mural, which stretched on the wall behind the coffee shop’s counter.

Surrounded by peers, some of whom were relaxing on the comfy couch, working on a project or catching up on homework, this place served as Alvarez and Dominguez’s designated hang out. It’s the perfect place to start the day and to spend time with friends, Dominguez said, fixing her hair and finishing out her new look.

Nearly five years ago, this area was only used as a computer lab, said Nancy Bartosz, a former eighth-grade literacy teacher at Westmont Junior High. With the help of her students, Bartosz sought to offer a new learning opportunity outside of a textbook.

“One of the things I’ve always liked about the cafe is that it’s very purposeful,” said Bartosz, who now teaches kindergarten at Miller Elementary School, and credits her former student. “It’s a very safe space. It’s comfortable.”

The idea behind creating a student-led cafe was to promote social entrepreneurship, which uses business to support a social cause. The cafe’s name, Seeds of Hope, is a play off its partner’s name, Hope for the Day, a Chicago-based nonprofit focused on suicide prevention through outreach and mental health education.

“They really try to invest in the overall health and wellness of students,” said Carl Evans, Hope for the Day’s program and operations commander, as he complimented faculty and teachers at Westmont Junior High. “This is a pretty unique, special thing. For us as an organization, it’s also been an inspiration bringing this kind of idea to other schools.”

Before the launch of Seeds of Hope, Bartosz said she and her students took a closer look at different types of business models and practices, including the popular retailer Toms Shoes, who’s known for giving back to the community with every purchase.

That’s the happy medium, Bartosz said. It’s about learning “how to make money and then also doing good things,” she said.

For months, her students visited a handful of small businesses in Chicago to see firsthand what it was like to run a company. They headed over to Bang Bang Pie and Biscuits and Dollop, and they met a few owners, some of whom were young and fresh-faced.

And, since the Seeds of Hope began, staff and students have worked alongside educators from Hope for the Day. Together, they’ve held family-friendly events and programs as a way to raise awareness about Hope for the Day and other organizations like it, as well as the need for mental health education, especially for adolescents and teens. On some days, the cafe and innovation space doubles as a makeshift classroom, marking a casual, collaborative area.

As Bartosz reflected on the Seeds of Hope, she thought about how it has become a breeding ground for endless possibilities. Aside from interacting with classmates and seeing potential careers come to life, students also can learn more about themselves.

“The cafe allows students to build a connection,” Bartosz said.