Leslie Grant, centre, and Donna Shannon Paterson opened Judy’s Beach Café in September as a non-profit business.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
The organizers: Leslie Grant and Donna Shannon Paterson
The pitch: Opening Judy’s Beach Café
The cause: To provide jobs for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities
Leslie Grant and Donna Shannon Paterson thought about opening a coffee shop for years, but not as a way of making money.
The friends had each enjoyed long careers in special education in Toronto and they’d always wanted to find a way to employ people who have intellectual or developmental disabilities. They drew inspiration from Ms. Shannon Paterson’s younger sister, Judy Shannon, who had Down Syndrome and died last year at the age of 51.
Ms. Shannon spent around 13 years working at a florist shop in Montreal. “This was such a game changer for her and for our entire family,” Ms. Shannon Paterson recalled. “It was paid employment and it was purposeful. She got up every morning and she had a place to go, and at the end of the day she’d join everybody for dinner and had something to share about her day.”
The two friends, who are both retired, found a location in Toronto’s Beaches district and opened Judy’s Beach Café in September as a non-profit business.
Spring Ding works at Judy’s Café, which provides jobs for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
They employ ten disabled people with varying capabilities. Only one is on staff at a time and they all work a few hours a week alongside five full-time employees who make the coffee and source the pastries, sandwiches and salads.
Ms. Grant, 68, and Ms. Shannon Paterson, 66, don’t draw salaries and they recently finished the paperwork to turn the café into a registered charity.
Ms. Grant said it has been exciting to see how busy the café has become – it’s open seven days a week 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. – and to field inquiries from other business owners and city officials who are interested in hiring disabled people.
They’ve also seen how much the café means to the ten workers. “We’ve had the chance to see them blossom and to see how thrilled they are with having a paid job, a job that has responsibilities and expectations,” said Ms. Grant. “It’s just been such a happy, joyful place.”
Aggie Kenny applys stickers to takeout containers. The café employs ten disabled people with varying capabilities.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail