“It’s just better than your morning cup of coffee. This is the way that you should start your day because this is what really matters in life.”
— Laura Graben, Java Joy & Corporate Partner Coordinator
We are excited to announce that our very own Java Joy has been nominated for the Chick-fil-A True Inspiration Award! If we win, we have the opportunity to receive $75,000 to support Java Joy in expanding its mission throughout the country. You can help our Joyristas spread their joy even farther by voting for the award!
You can vote at this link or in the Chick-fil-A App by following these 10 easy steps.
https://www.chick-fil-afoundation.org/vote-for-true-inspiration-awards
Or in the Chick-fil-A App by following these 10 easy steps.
Voting will be live until September 30, so tell your family and friends!
We would love to win for our Joyristas!
Before Java Joy
Java Joy has come a long way since its roots in the original “Bouncin’ Bean,” an in-house coffee counter started in 2013 to provide job training for adults with disabilities. For many years Bouncin’ Bean participants brought smiles to the faces of everyone they served. It was this original spark of joy that never burned out.
Back in the days before our mobile coffee cart and Java Joy, our business partners would visit Bouncin’ Bean at the ESP building during Summer Camp. The partners would get a delicious cup of coffee and an organic experience with one of our joy bringing baristas.
This sense of joy is what Java Joy was founded upon.
We were hooked and our business partners were hooked. How could we bring this joy to more people? We decided to roll our coffee carts out into the community in 2016.
“We would see our corporate partners leave here with so much joy; how do we get out into the community and get people who can’t come here that same joy?”
– Laura Graben, Java Joy & Corporate Partner Coordinator
Coffee with wheels
Bouncin’ Bean gained its wheels and a new name, “Java Joy,” after a successful Kickstarter that raised $10,000 in less than a month. Shortly after, our very first Joyristas were recruited and booked for their first event!
It all started with one chamber of commerce holiday gathering, but within two years our Joyristas were serving over 100 local businesses and organizations.
Java Joy kept its commitment to providing transformative experiences by providing meaningful work for individuals with disabilities, and added the possibility of providing positive experiences to more people than ever imagined!
Now, the Joyristas travel to multiple bookings a week all across our community.
Spreading joy across the country
Java Joy has the support and guidance of an amazing team of entrepreneurs, restaurateurs, and creative supporters in our community. We are so excited to see just how fast Java Joy has grown, but we aren’t done yet!
We would love to see Java Joy in every major city in the US!
By 2022, our goal is to have Java Joy in 25 cities employing 250 adults with disabilities, and by 2025, we’d love to be in 50 cities employing 1,000 adults with disabilities.
You can help us achieve these goals by voting for us in the Chickfila Foundation’s True Inspiration Awards!
