Greenwich's Coffee For Good Honored By CT Restaurant Association

GREENWICH, CT — Coffee for Good, the independent nonprofit coffee shop located in Greenwich at 48 Maple Ave., accepted the first-ever Community Impact Leader Award at the 2022 CRAzies Gala on Dec. 5, in recognition of its contribution to the Connecticut restaurant community by training and finding employment for people with developmental disabilities.

New for 2022, the award was given to four recipients by the Connecticut Restaurant Association to acknowledge these businesses for their positive impact on the restaurant and hospitality industry, the workforce and the communities they serve.

All four recipients of the Community Impact Leader Award were honored with a citation from the Connecticut General Assembly. Gov. Ned Lamont opened the CRAzies Gala which brought more than 1,300 attendees together to recognize the people and businesses that make the state of Connecticut’s hospitality industry second to none.

Coffee for Good Executive Director Deb Rogan and Director Sofia Viola were honored to accept the award on behalf of the entire staff, volunteers and trainees of Coffee for Good.

"We are truly grateful to the Connecticut Restaurant Association for creating this brand-new award to recognize businesses that are making a difference in people’s lives, which directly aligns with our mission to improve the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities by reducing the unemployment rate in our community," Viola said in a news release.

"We’d also like to thank the Connecticut restaurant community for their support and collaboration," she continued. "From our partner vendors including Friends&Co, to the remarkable businesses such as Gregorys Coffee, Honey Joes Coffee and Rise Donuts who have employed our trainee graduates, and to our generous donors we are truly grateful. Without you we could not have achieved so much so soon since our opening in July of 2021 by placing 14 graduates into competitive employment."

Coffee for Good opened in 2021 inside the Mead House just steps away from the Second Congregational Church. The nonprofit, high-end coffee shop aims to provide job training in a real life setting to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The hope is that trainees develop technical and professional skills so they can find competitive employment opportunities elsewhere in the community.

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