With the Goal of Creating More Jobs, Homeboy Industries Invests in Tepito Coffee Shop
September 3, 2024 (Pasadena, CA) – Lee & Associates – Pasadena
Homeboy Industries, the largest gang rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world, is now an investor in Tepito Coffee as part of an initiative to expand employment opportunities for formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated individuals, the organization announced Thursday.
Launched in 2021, Tepito is a coffee shop and coffee-growing venture. In 2022, it opened its first cafe at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena.
Through the Homeboy Ventures and Jobs Fund, both organizations plan to open additional coffee shops in neighborhoods across Los Angeles.
“This is the perfect partnership for us. Together, we are committed to providing hope, training, and employment for system-impacted people, while providing the most memorable coffee experience imaginable,” Jose Arellano, co- owner of Tepito Coffee, said in a statement. “As a formerly incarcerated person who went through the Homeboy Industries program, I can personally attest to the immense opportunity that we have to change countless lives together.”
Founded in 1988 by Father Gregory Boyle, Homeboy Industries provides training and support to formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated people.
Jodi Shoemake and Colleen Carey of Lee & Associates – Pasadena brokered the deal, bringing Tepito Coffee into this space and bridging the cultural shift of premium coffee, gang rehabilitation, employment and empowerment into the Heart of the Pasadena Playhouse Village.
Source: KNX News 97.1 FM | “Homeboy Industries invests in coffee shop in bid to create more jobs”
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| Jodi Shoemake Principal 626.240.2780 jshoemake@lee-associates.com License ID 01833063 |
Colleen Carey Principal 626.240.2782 ccarey@lee-associates.com License ID 01258120 |
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