SIFE students sell local coffee blend to raise money for New Hope Diner Project

Bryant students participate in initiative by RI Training School to restore old diners and teach vocational skills.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, November 6 and 7, the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) organization will be brewing cups of New Hope Coffee and selling bags of the local blend to raise money for the New Hope Diner Project. The initiative was undertaken by the Rhode Island Training School to restore historic diners and teach students vocational trades.

The coffee will be on sale in front of The Scoop in the Bryant Center from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

SIFE students are playing a significant role in the New Hope Diner Project. One group of students is developing a business plan for Mike's Diner, one of the four diners being restored. Once parked nightly in downtown Providence's Kennedy Plaza, Mike’s will hit the road to promote the project when its restoration is complete.

Another group of SIFE students is creating a marketing plan for New Hope Coffee, a local blend developed by New Harvest Coffee Roasters in Pawtucket. Proceeds from coffee sales will also benefit the diner project.

A third group of SIFE students travels to the Training School twice a week to teach market economics, financial literacy, business ethics, and entrepreneurship skills to the residents.

“This is a tremendous way to put what students learn in the classroom to positive use in our community,” says Dave Greenan, lecturer in the management department and faculty advisor for SIFE.

The idea for the project was developed several years ago at the Training School as a way to provide the residents with transferable skills that can help them be successful and productive members of society once they are released.

For the SIFE students, they are getting hands-on work experience while seeing firsthand the effect their involvement can have on society.

“The project has given me the real-life experience of leading a team and helping in the development of an actual business that will benefit the community in numerous ways,” says Lauren Rafferty ’10 (Enfield, CT), the SIFE project manager leading the New Hope Coffee marketing efforts.

SIFE’s involvement in the New Hope Diner project is one of about 15 projects that are part of the organization’s mission to provide opportunities for students to apply skills learned in the classroom to better the community.

“We make it a priority to give the members of our organization the real-life experience that will help them when they graduate,” says Dan Caulfield ’09 (Fairfield, CT), vice president of SIFE. “Being able to show them how business concepts will apply in the future is key to their understanding and application of what they’ve learned.”

Says Greenan, “The project is perfect … it has all of the components – marketing, entrepreneurship, citizenship, and community involvement – and it provides students with the opportunity to see the importance and power of working in collaboration with others in order to maximize results. I believe that the students involved in this project will remember the lessons learned for many years to come.”