Covenant Coffee

I have been on the board of directors of Covenant for the last few years. I am always amazed at the stories from the young men and women who no longer qualified for foster care and would have been left in the cold dark world but for Covenant. They had no job training, usually had not finished high school, had no training on money management , had no job skills and no place to call home. Had Covenant not been there to give them encouragement and hope they would have in most instances become common statistics of crime, drug addiction, teen pregnancy, gang members and outcasts of society. Instead they are loved, trained, encouraged to pursue their education and helped financially so they can become productive citizens. The individual stories bring you to tears to hear how they were many times abused in the foster care system and finally just gave up, without hope that someone would truly love and care for them. Enter Covenant and their staff who truly care for and give these young adults hope for the future. The vision and reality is they train them in various pursuits including food preparation, coffee service and roasting, customer skills, and help provide housing at a low cost, train them to be good stewards in their finances and assist them with educational pursuits. They interact with at least 150 of these at risk young people monthly and intend to increase that number as time and finances allow. Covenant is an organization that is working where the rubber meets the road and is successfully meeting one of the greatest needs in our society, catching the foster children after they are given the boot from the foster system.

I have worked with Covenant Coffee for the past 5 years, their commitment to working with at-risk transitional adults is exemplary. The training and development that takes place in the real world, real-time is key to the success of the program. I would encourage companies to support this program by visiting the website or the storefront for holiday items or your breakroom coffee needs.

I've gotten to know Covenant by helping them obtain permits for some of their building projects. I drop in their coffee house on North Chester every once in a while and buy some of their great coffee and talk everyonce in a while to the youth they help out. One of them told me it was the only place she has ever felt special. I about lost it... I knew for sure then they were doing great things and filling a much needed gap in the "post" foster care system.

I have had a few occasions to stop in for coffee and meetings at the Covenant Coffee shop. Not only do they make a great cup of coffee, but they serve it well, the atmosphere is creative and inviting and the cause for helping Foster Youth is rewarding. I have also had opportunities to work along side Randy and Kim in a professional capacity. Their passion is contagious and their drive is nearly unstoppable. They run a great non-profit expanding into the community in numerous ways in order to help change lives. It's challanging work, but they do it very well.

Covenant Community Services truly makes a difference... not only in the lives of the former foster youth they serve but also to those who join in their efforts. From the moment you walk in the doors of their coffee house in Oildale/Bakersfield, Ca. you can see the attention to detail of what it takes to not only serve a fantastic cup of GREAT coffee but the young people serving it. Covenant's roots started in Bakersfield, with the founders (Randy and Kim Martin) and grew to the young former foster youth that serve the coffee (and good food). This place is a true place of HOPE. Hope for the young adults that serve you but even hope for the supporters of this fantastic organization. Every time you buy a cup of coffee you are supporting more than you can imagine. Your support allows young adults to thrive in the learning of business world, self-confidence, and how to grow character while receiving a pay check. Covenant has really figured it out. I am proud to say I support Covenant Community Services and the many things they offer to our community!

I appreciate that Covenant Community Services not only helps former foster children become responsible adults, but that they provide valuable services to our community. One trip to the coffee shop will remind you of days gone by. These people understand customer service. Each time I go I am pretty sure that I am their most important customer of the day! Good Job!

This nonprofit is, perhaps, one of the most unique approaches to the issues of foster children and their plight as adults in the country. Kudos for the organizers and volunteers....they deserve much credit, and significant funding from private and public sources.

I first became aware of Covenant Community Services while at a local bicycle race in Bakersfield, California. I was drawn to their booth for the very good reason that they were offering delicious hot coffee. While there, I learned that they have a program to help successfully transition former foster care youth into the working adult world. One vehicle Covenant uses to accomplish this goal is in training youth to roast, grind, and sell premium coffee. Since then, I have become a regular customer of Covenant Coffee, purchasing freshly ground coffee for my home, as well as purchasing the coffee we use in our church fellowship hall. I am exceptionally impressed with the work that Covenant Community Services is doing and enthusiastically recommend them!
Peter Wonderly - Bakersfield, CA