In partnership with Boeing, the Seattle Sounders established “Change Champions,” an initiative that highlights local organizations and the impact they have in their communities.
Prior to the Oct. 11 match against Real Salt Lake, the club honored FareStart, a social enterprise nonprofit that is organized around job training and employment opportunities in food-related industries.
“We have a variety of programs that are all designed to help folks who have faced significant barriers to employment, address those barriers, get skilled up and be ready to enter the job force,” said CEO Patrick D’Amelio.
In doing so, FareStart operates a set of food-based businesses that function as hands-on learning environments for students. Whether it be working in a café, the nonprofit’s restaurant, or a community food production space that prepares meals for shelters, schools, and food-insecure communities, each experience is an opportunity for students to “skill up,” according to D’Amelio.
For students 18 and older, the organization has two core job training programs. Based in King County, the adult food pathway includes 12 weeks of training where students learn skills through classroom-based learning and on the job training in culinary businesses. Additionally, they have a nine-week barista and customer service program.
Its partnerships with Seattle Public Schools and Echo Glen Children’s Center also allows FareStart to incorporate tracks for youth.
“With Seattle Public Schools, [we have] an online customer service training program for high school students who are often at risk of falling behind in credit accumulation,” said D’Amelio. “So, they get the same sort of support and training, and they can earn up to a single high school credit, which is really great to get them re-engaged, connected to school, and then ready for employment as well.”
He continued: “With Echo Glen, [we have] an early intervention program, where we go out and do culinary training and barista customer training in the rehabilitation facility with the goal that the residents participate in campus employment opportunities while they're there, and then be better prepared for re-entry once they're released.”
Beyond the hard skills taught in the culinary space, FareStart provides support to students as it relates to resume writing, mock interviews and coaching for job seeking, in addition to emotional and social help pertaining to housing or addiction as well.
At its core, the non-profit is driven by uplifting those who have dealt with career obstacles in the past. Over the last three decades, FareStart has served nearly 15,000 individuals through its trainings and programs with an 82% job placement rate within 90 days of graduation.
“We can either provide support through our own case management, or we can connect students to our network of partners,” said D’Amelio. “The end goal of what we do is to give students the opportunity to create stability in their life and then through employment, economic mobility over time.”
And while FareStart is paving the way for a more positive future for both adults and youth, it still needs outside resources to contribute to its mission. By heading to Farestart's website, Sounders Fans and others interested in supporting the cause can find different ways to connect to the organization.
“Volunteer. Dine with us. Come to breakfast or lunch. Order box lunches. Make a donation,” said D’Amelio. “We have a wonderful guest chef night program every other Thursday where local Seattle chefs come in and cook alongside our students. Together, they prepare beautiful meals...Be an ambassador. Tell people about FareStart. [And] spread the word.”
