The ARC Offers Sweets and Support at Charlotte's Coffee House

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THE ARC OFFERS SWEETS AND SUPPORT at Charlotte’s Coffee House

For more than 6o years, The Arc of Frederick County has served children and adults with developmental disabilities and helped them to live enviable lives.

Enviable lives are the lives we all lead, filled with purpose and meaning, and with friends and family. The Arc accomplishes this goal by providing services, advocacy and creating supportive communities.

A recent program created at The Arc is Charlotte’s Coffee House. It expands The Arc’s mission by creating training opportunities and supporting people to get jobs which, in turn, helps people live and have fun in Frederick, and provides a space for community to come together.

The Arc of Frederick County always seeks creative ways to support people with developmental disabilities to be included in their communities, according to Shauna Mulcahy, Director of Community Engagement for The Arc.

“In looking at ways that Frederick could be more supportive of people with disabilities, families, students transitioning from school, and adults with disabilities already in the workforce identified that additional vocational training programs would be helpful,” she said. And so, Charlotte’s Coffee House was born.

When The Arc purchased the building at 555 S. Market St., in Frederick, operators decided to open Charlotte’s Coffee House in order to offer a culinary training program to support vocational training for people with disabilities. An extra bonus of the program is that it also creates a friendly café with delicious food for everyone in Frederick to enjoy.

“Frederick is a booming community with a robust job market especially in the restaurant, catering and hospitality fields,” Mulcahy said. “Many people we serve were interested in locating jobs in the food service industry, but needed additional training that would put them a cut above the rest of people looking for similar jobs.”

Charlotte’s is named in honor of Charlotte Glick, a founding member of The Arc of Frederick County.

“Charlotte had a big heart and was strong advocate for the inclusion of people with disabilities,” Mulcahy said. “We felt that creating a coffee shop that brought people with and without disabilities together was a wonderful way to honor her memory.”

Charlotte’s Coffee House brews coffee from Frederick’s own Dublin Roasters and serves a variety of freshly made sandwiches and lunchtime snacks. Customers can feed their mood in a variety of festive rooms as they get their caffeine fix and lunch time fill up.

The coffee house is run and operated by people with disabilities who are part of a 13-week training program to build vocational skills and make job connections.

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF THE ARC OF FREDERICK COUNTY

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“The 13-week class rotation is purposely designed so that people served do not view Charlotte’s as a final destination on their job search,” Mulcahy said. “The purpose of the program is training, so that people can get jobs of their choice in the community.”

People build skills by taking orders and operating the cash register; preparing, cooking and serving high-quality, tasty food; all while creating a pleasant dining experience for each customer.

Charlotte’s is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesdays through Fridays at 555 S. Market St. Each week, customers can choose from a unique menu that incorporates fresh, seasonal recipes.

People can meet in a game room and play games while they eat, or one can fly solo and grab a bite while reading a favorite book, or small groups who are dining in can reserve a meeting space to conduct a business lunch there.

Mulcahy said The Arc is “very pleased at the success rate of participants in the Culinary Training Program who enter the workforce.”

The Arc has built a partnership with Frederick County Public Schools so that people are connected to jobs within FCPS Food and Nutrition Services following their training. Additionally, people have

secured jobs with restaurants and cafes in Downtown Frederick, at private catering businesses, grocery stores, government agencies and other locations throughout Frederick County.

“We are excited about the impact the program has made on people we serve as well as the Frederick community,” she added.

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Charlotte’s Coffee House 555 S. Market St., Frederick Contact Shauna at 301-663-0909, ext. 140 to reserve a room or for more information. arcfc.org/market/charlottes.html

Summer 2019 // FREDERICK COUNTY GUIDE 53