Hello, I’m Jim Wurster, co-founder of New Avenue Foundation. Many of you know who I am and how I am tied to Havertown. Others may be asking, “Who is this fellow asking for our help? Almost 50 years ago, I met my wife in Wildwood on the beach. I quickly learned that she came from Havertown living on Wendy Road. For the next several years while attending grad school at Drexel, I did a lot of traveling between northeast Philadelphia and Havertown. We were married at St. Denis with our reception at LLanerch Country Club. My wife still has relatives in Havertown and we have many friends in and around the community. I started helping out a few years ago with the newly formed Haverford Music Festival by volunteering to build and manage their website because I wanted to give back to my wife’s community. This has grown into helping with many of the other music related festivities in Havertown. We have participated at many local events since 2011.

Several years ago, I helped found New Avenue Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity, with other parents to help our kids with disabilities have more meaningful lives. We have done a few things but want to do more. Our current projects include Our Community Cup Coffeehouse which has been running for almost 3 years and our open mic at Temple Lutheran Church which has been running for about a year. For a couple of years now we’ve been looking to start a business in which to employ people with disabilities, providing a place where their abilities can shine, as well as showcasing their value. Earlier this year an opportunity arose in Media to partner with a restaurant and set up coffee roasting there. This will now begin in April. It has taken awhile because we have been diligent in completing the necessary steps to make this a sustainable and successful business.

Then, a couple of months ago, I inquired with Haverford township about a property on Darby Road and setting up coffee roasting there. They thought a much better place would be the old Cuskey Computers place. And so this journey began. We are at the point now where we need you, the community, to help us make the coffee, crafts and roasting shop, a reality. Capital improvements have to be done, totaling about $40,000. We cannot do this alone.

How will this shop benefit the community? To paraphrase something Amy Wright of Bitty and Beau’s Coffee said on winning CNN’s Hero of the Year award recently:

Our goal is to change the world, one cup at a time, by brewing a strong community. To do this we will:

• Provide jobs to underemployed people.
• Enable individuals to feel positive and self-confident.
• Directly help farmers of our naturally grown coffee beans through fair trade practices
• Foster environmental consciousness through the use of biodegradable and compostable products in our shop
• Support the local community by using local businesses as our vendors and suppliers.
• Work with other social enterprises, like Kelly Music For Life, to make our community stronger and more resilient.

With you as our partners, we will become the catalyst needed to change the world for our kids! Please join with us in making this much needed community business, a reality.

• Denise & Jim Vizzini
• Kevin & Wand Thomas
• The Tillman family
• The Csaniz family
• Scott Beadenkopy & Jill Turetsky
• The TALL organization
• The Whitehouse family
• The Macedo family
• Tara H.

To learn more about us and our initiatives, please visit: Our Community Cup Coffeehouse, TLC Open Mic, and New Avenue Foundation