A Baptist Child & Family Services community ministries project giving a low income area a safe haven for youth and houses a pre-college admissions program inside the neighborhood’s first internet coffee shop has been recognized as the best redevelopment project in San Antonio. At the recent H.A.C.E.R (Honor, Award, Celebrate, Evolve, Renew) Gala, the City of San Antonio’s Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization program bestowed the honor on Guadalupe Street Coffee House. “This award is given to a project in a NCR area that has the greatest private dollars invested, public funds leveraged, number of jobs created, visual impact made and overall fit with the character of the corridor,” explained Teresa Hernandez, NCR project manager. The coffee house is a ministry on San Antonio's West Side designed to specifically address the root causes of poverty through holistic empowerment of the community’s residents. It is a cooperative program developed by BCFS in partnership with Trinity Baptist Church, the Baptist General Convention of Texas, the San Antonio Baptist Association and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. “We are honored to receive this award,” said Jeremy Everett, GSCH program director. “Our heart behind the ministry is to provide the same opportunities to West Side residents that you can find in the wealthier parts of San Antonio, as well as improve the economy in the area.” The NCR is committed to empowering community groups to restore the productivity of underused inner-city business areas. It recognizes and supports neighborhoods throughout San Antonio, including Avenida Guadalupe, where the “quaint coffee shop offers a great place to relax and enjoy fresh brewed java” as the NCR program noted. Formally known as the White Star building, 1320 Guadalupe “has been completely transformed from empty office space into a vibrant new coffee house and cyber café, which has become a favorite local hangout,” Hernandez said. |