We drove for awhile and noticed quite a few places that looked good, but decided on Cafe 180 (generally you put cafe in a restaurant title and I'm like "YUP").
Anyways ...
Obvi, I looked it up on yelp first.
I came across quite a few comments that mentioned "donations" and "non-profit" .... so I assumed we were going to a place with some pretty awesome values. I was into it.
When we arrived and ordered, the sweet lady behind the counter asked if we had been there before, we said no and she started explaining that they were a non-profit, I mentioned that we had read up on it a bit and she then asked us how much we would like to pay........ I looked at J, with confusion and told the lady that we would like to pay for our meals and then one more (this was an option I had seen on the website). She then again asked how much we wanted to pay.... and this went on until we determined that we would pay seven dollars/meal and therefore $21. The lady seemed so appreciative and we were glad to give to a good cause, but I was still confused as to what had just happened.
After a minute of looking around and reading some signs, we realized that Cafe 180 serves anyone and everyone, regardless of whether or not they can pay for their meal. The options for paying are (1) however much you would normally pay or can pay, (2) pay nothing and work one hour in their kitchen, or to (3) pay however much you want and then a little more to "pay-it-forward."
YOU GUYS...this place opens their doors to absolutely anyone, they will not turn you away if you cannot afford a meal. And they even give people the option to work for their meal if they feel so compelled. This place is doing their part to help the homeless/unemployed/low income people of Denver, and I was so humbled by the expereince.
You can tell that there are regulars there, those who they expect to see at least once a day, and the people at Cafe 180 welcome them with open arms.
And everyone eats together! Whether you're taking a lunch break from your 9-5 well paying office job or if you just walked 10 miles from a park downtown to get what may be your only meal for the day ... you will all eat together, and that is a beautiful beautiful thing.
Oh, the food? Yeah it was great. I had the southwestern chicken wrap and J had the meatball sandwhich. Both were delicious, and there are other options I can't wait to try. Not to mention we were able to sit on the patio and enjoy the gorgeous Colorado weather (one of my new favorite things to do!).
Places like this leave me inspired and longing to do my part. To acknowledge that not everyone has it as good as I do, which means I have a social responsibility to help when I can.
What are some other unique and truly inspiring non-profits that you have heard about? There are so many interesting ideas are out there. I love seeing people use their talents to help people!
I pray that this post did this place justice. It is just so wonderful and I get lost in my words when I feel passionate about things.
Well, thanks for reading!
Bye friends.
p.s. Visit Cafe 180's website!
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