GENEVA —
Graffiti on city buildings, windows shot out with bb guns, a list of juveniles with warrants at the Geneva police station — these are the signs of trouble, Matt Thompson said.
“Teenagers in Geneva are crying out through their actions,” he said. “They need a place to go, a funnel for their creative energy.”
Thompson, the pastor of the Geneva Church of Christ, said troubled teens need direction, support, and maybe a cup of coffee.
To that end, the Geneva Ministerial Association will open a coffee house for teenagers at the former Curves building on East Main Street — an establishment of faith, friendship and caffeine. The coffee shop will feature X-Box and Wii games, a stage for bands, artwork created by local teenagers, a chalkboard wall and plenty of food and gourmet coffee.
The shop, called “The Grounds,” which will open in September, needs $45,000 in start up funds, organizer Lisa Mott said.
“The Grounds is absolutely going to happen,” she said. “A lot of kids get into trouble and say, ‘There is nothing else to do in this town.’ We are taking that excuse away.”
“From $1 to $10 to corporate giving, we need to raise the money to get this coffee shop up and running,” Mott said.
The shop will serve coffee, nachos, muffins and baked goods and will open from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Thompson said the shop will close to the public for the lunch hours to give local restaurants more business and so the space can be used for business meetings.
Thompson said the idea of a coffee house has been “kicked around” several times in his 10 years as pastor.
“It has always fallen through,” he said. “So now we pick this great idea up and we run with it.”
The project is made possible by a year of free rent on the building, Mott said.
“All we pay is the taxes and insurance on the building for a year,” she said.
The program will reach far beyond Geneva, Jason Mott, pastor of the Geneva Park Street Church, said.
Jason Mott is working on “Coffee with a Purpose” through Project 7, a way to purchase consumer goods in a charitable way. The profit made from items purchased for resale through Project 7; including bottled water, coffee grounds, gum, candy and other coffee shop goods, goes toward seven global, charitable missions.
Thompson said The Grounds will be a safe place for teens to hang out, play video games and stay out of trouble.
Donations to help open The Grounds can be made at most Geneva area churches or by calling Lisa Mott at 415-7844.
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