According to Café Momentum’s 2017 Momentum Society Co-Chair Ashlee Kleinert,
“The Momentum Society, founded in 2016 by Inaugural Co-Chairs Sally and Forrest Hoglund, set out to connect 80 donors to the mission of Café Momentum: to transform young lives by equipping our community’s most at-risk youth with life skills, education and employment opportunities to help them achieve their full potential. With a $5,000 gift and a belief in that vision, those first 80 donors paved the way for the Momentum Society to empower each young person who walked through the doors of Café Momentum.
“This year, my husband, Chris Kleinert, and I are honored to co-chair the Momentum Society effort alongside our family (Connie, Nick, Tyler, Mackenzie and TJ) with the hope that by year’s end, the Momentum Society can reach 100 donors with a $500,000 commitment to provide transformative experiences to young men and women coming out of juvenile facilities. We invite you to join us in this goal and to consider joining the Momentum Society online or by calling Margaret Windham, chief development officer for Café Momentum, at 214.435.6421.
“On Wednesday, November 22, Café Momentum began its participation in the ‘40 Days of Gratitude – Gift A Future’ campaign. During the 40 hectic days that connect Thanksgiving and New Years, we look forward to sharing messages of gratitude from Café Momentum interns and staff as a daily reminder to take time to appreciate the good in each of our lives and to ask the community to consider ‘Gifting a Future’ to the young men and women working their way through our program.
“Cafe Momentum is a non-profit restaurant providing a transformative experience through a
post-release internship program for young men and women coming out of juvenile facilities. The interns rotate through all aspects of the restaurant, focusing on life and social skills, coaching and development. The case management team of Cafe Momentum provides an ecosystem of support around the interns to help them achieve their greatest potential. The restaurant is located at 1510 Pacific Ave. at Akard on Thanks-Giving Square in downtown Dallas and serves dinner Thursday through Saturday beginning at 5:30 p.m. For more information call 214.303.1234 or go to http://cafemomentum.org/. You can also find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cafemomentum or Twitter and Instagram using the handle @cafemomentum. ”
-By Ashlee Kleinert, Café Momentum’s 2017 Momentum Society co-chair
* Photo proved by Café Momentum