volunteer handbook
PLEASE NOTE: Prospective Volunteers must click through and read all pages of the Volunteer Handbook to access the online Volunteer Application and Waiver.
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Our Mission: Knead Community Café is a unique gathering place that nourishes the
body and soul and where all are welcome. Offering meals that are pay-what-you-can/pay-it-forward, providing fresh, wholesome food seasoned with love.
Our Core Beliefs:
1. Social enterprise.
We believe that trust is an essential part of building a community. Sharing resources when possible, and collaboration with other community partners is vital to enhance the good of the community. It can also inspire and encourage people, even the most marginalized, to engage and be active participants in society. Strong local partnerships result in stronger communities.
2. Guests determine what they can pay.
We believe in providing a dignified dining experience and offer several choices in partnership with the café. Those patrons with means have the opportunity to contribute towards those who don’t.
3. Excellent food where guests can choose.
We believe everyone should have access to healthy and nutritious food options and that choice is empowering. Choice also reduces food waste and actively encourages healthy food benefits.
4. Space for community where all are welcome.
We believe food has the power to bring people together. When we gather, strangers become acquaintances and neighbors become friends. Sharing a meal builds healthy communities, and healthy communities make a better world.
5. Opportunity to volunteer.
Volunteerism promotes both personal growth and has a collective benefit to the community where support systems are created. Our café model, although one of compassion, offers a hand-up and not a hand-out, encouraging active volunteerism for all. Volunteers help change the lives of those in their community through action rather than receiving a financial reward.
Our Values: Knead Community Café provides a safe and welcoming space for all who dine with us. Like the spices we season with at the café, our patrons are comprised of a wonderful blend of cultures, lifestyles, and backgrounds. It is our expectation that our staff and volunteers will be friendly, open-minded, and empathetic while volunteering at the café and to represent our mission in the best light possible. Please practice the Golden Rule by treating others (staff, fellow volunteers and customers) as you would want to be treated. If in doubt of how to manage any situation of conflict, our staff will be happy to assist you so that everyone has the best possible experience at the café.
Cultural Awareness: Culture is a shared system of meanings, values, beliefs, and behaviors through which experience is interpreted and carried out. At Knead Community Café, we recognize the variety of cultural backgrounds from our volunteers and our customers, and we are committed to creating an environment where all feel welcomed and loved.
We ask that you:
• Respect others and their opinions
• Value everyone and their uniqueness
• Embrace different thought
• Do the right thing and treat everyone with kindness