The Jordan Spieth Family Foundation was pleased to help support the benefit concert, Hugs Café Rocks the Square, on July 11th, 2015 at the McKinney Performing Arts Center in McKinney, TX. The concert focused on raising the funds necessary to open the first of what will hopefully be many Hugs Café locations in North Texas in the coming years. The mission of Hugs Café is to create a place of training and employment for adults with special needs while providing dignity, self-worth and developing respect in the community.
The day’s activities included performances by the Tyler Rogers Band and the Rhythm & Beards and included chances to meet many of the future “Teammates” that will work at Hugs Café when they open in the fall. The benefit concert served as the kickoff event for their crowdfunding campaign through Crowdrise.com which aimed to raise the remainder of the funds necessary to open their location in Historic Downtown McKinney. Between online donations, concessions, raffles and sponsorship they were able to raise nearly $15,000 and are on their way to hitting their goal of $50,000.
"This is a great concept," Spieth said. "Hugs Cafe is a perfect example of how important it is to provide opportunities for those with special needs. Whether it's sports, hobbies or something as important as a job, there is extreme value in opening doors for these capable people."
This event assists one of the main pillars, Special Needs, of the Jordan Spieth Family Foundation. The Foundation is proud to support Hugs Café and its mission to create more opportunities for adults with intellectual disabilities in the community. The Foundation is excited to provide a boost for Hugs Café and to help drive its program into the mainstream.
About Hugs Café
Hugs Café was created by its Founder and President, Ruth Thompson of McKinney Texas. For years, she has been working with adults and children with special needs in various capacities, most recently as Manager of a cooking school where she channeled her passion for adults with special needs into teaching cooking and the life skills required to live on their own and get a job so they too can be a part of the community. “We’re focusing on their abilities, not their disabilities at Hugs Café. We’re carving out jobs that play to their respective skill sets and cater to their strengths.” The Hugs Café staff will consist of upwards of 60-70% adults with Special Needs who will be performing a wide variety of jobs.
Hugs Café is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit. To help support them and their mission, click here to visit their crowdfunding page or visit their website or Facebook page to learn more about the good work they are already doing in the community.