SYDNEY – Coinciding with the International Day of People with Disability Sydney will today see the arrival of Australia’s first ever coffee house cafe operated almost entirely by adults with intellectual disabilities.
The initiative, led by the Windgap Foundation, has been designed to tap into the booming Australian coffee culture and provide meaningful, skilled employment for up to 12 participants with intellectual disabilities.
Windgap CEO, Mr Serhat Oguz says that the café – Mr Espresso by Windgap – will be staffed and run by employees with varying levels of intellectual disabilities.
“This really is a very special and exciting initiative that will provide immediate employment to Sydney adults with disabilities who have been trained at Windgap’s Tukka Box Café training centre” said Mr Oguz.
NSW Disability Services Minister John Ajaka will officially open the doors of the café, highlighting the need for ongoing and meaningful employment Australians with intellectual disabilities as well as the role of commercial social enterprise in Sydney.
ABOUT WINDGAP FOUNDATION
Windgap Foundation is a not for profit organisation, providing services to people with intellectual disabilities, including supported employment, supported accommodation, training, community access and community participation.
Celebrating more than its 60th year of operation, Windgap has established an outstanding reputation as a quality disability service provider in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney and prides itself on its values of ‘caring, integrity, independence, innovation and empowerment’.
