For the upcoming weeks, I will be featuring different local and international social enterprises.
This week, the focus will be on Crossings Cafe!
My group and I are working with Crossings Cafe for our Managing Social Enterprise module group assignment.
Last week, we conducted an interview with Ms Jenny Teng, the chairman of Crossing Cafe to get to know more about the social enterprise.
About Crossings CafeCrossing Cafe is a F&B social enterprise which employs the youths at risk and the disadvantaged. It aims to serve simple yet delectable fare while nourishing community connections.
As stated in the news article;"New work-study programme for graduates of Northlight and Assumption Pathway Schools, Crossing Cafe works with Assumption Pathway School to provide students who are interested in pursuing a career in the F&B industry employment opportunities.
Currently, Crossing Cafe has successfully employed 3 graduates from Assumption Pathway School.
With the Ministry of Education announcement of the new programme, I am sure more students are able to have the relevant F&B industry experience and lead them a more purposeful life.
Through our interview, I am able to feel Ms Jenny's driving passion and heart to help the beneficiaries and would love to be able to help more students or other disadvantaged people.
Ms Jenny also enlightened us with Crossing Cafe's unique social enterprise model.
Crossing Cafe is founded by eleven donor investors, including Ms Jenny. Unlike normal businesses where the investors would want a return of their investments, the donor investors do not expect returns. 100 per cent of their profits are plough back to the running of the social enterprise.
Also, the 10 per cent service charge is fully paid back to their employees as their additional incentives.
Ms Jenny also shared with us that she felt very proud of her staff when she knew that the employees have used the incentives for team -bonding activities and even contribute the money back to help others in need.
She do strongly believe that the business model of a social enterprise is very important and people should come to Crossing Cafe for the good food, atmosphere and to support the cafe's social cause.
Ms Jenny was very open and eager to share with us the challenges faced by Crossings Cafe such as attracting more dinner crowd and teenagers, generate more revenue to be sustainable and have more for future growth, understaffed and managing the beneficiaries.
In terms of managing of beneficiaries, I feel that the government can provide more training like what Ms Jenny shared with us, it is challenge to motivate the beneficiaries to come to work as they have a different mentality and the staff would also need to be equipped with emotional management skills if the beneficiaries are suffering from emotional outbreaks, Most social entrepreneurs do not have the area of expertise.
Despite all these challenges , Ms Jenny and her team chose to strive on and do all they can to keep Crossings Cafe running, They are truly inspiring and I hope that my team and I will be able to come up with effective strategies and solutions to aid Crossings Cafe on their road to sustainability,
Do pay a visit to Crossing Cafe!
Address: 5 Waterloo Street, Singapore 187954
Opening Hours:
Weekdays: 8am-10pm
Weekends: 10am-10pm
More information can be found on their website: http://crossingscafe.com.sg/about-us/
References:
ABDUL KHAMID, H. (2014). New work-study programme for graduates of Northlight, Assumption Pathway schools. [online] Channel NewsAsia. Available at: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/new-work-study-programme/1454274.html [Accessed 29 Nov. 2014].
Crossingscafe.com.sg, (2014). ABOUT US |. [online] Available at: http://crossingscafe.com.sg/about-us/ [Accessed 29 Nov. 2014].
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