Amos House
Entrepreneur: Eileen Hayes
Address:
415 Friendship Street, P.O. Box 72873
Providence, RI 02907
Telephone: (401) 272-0220
FAX: (401) 272-2137
Email: ehayes@amoshouse.com
Web Site: http://www.amoshouse.com
Grant Amount: $150,000 (2006); $130,000 (2008)
Mission Statement
Amos House is an organization providing hospitality and direct services to the homeless and poor of Rhode Island. Amos House works in collaboration with other agencies and groups to address issues of hunger, homelessness and poverty. (See "Additional Iinformation" below.)
Purpose of Grant
1. (2006 - $150,000) To provide working capital for Amos House's "More Than A Meal" micro-business that employs graduates of its ACE culinary arts program. The business provides graduates, on the road to self-reliance, a bridge from their job training at Amos House to a career in the hospitality industry.
2. (2008 - $130,000) To cover expenses for the start-up and first year of operations for the new Friendship Cafe.
Additional Information
Amos House provides a safe, clean, nurturing space for men, women and children in need. They include Rhode Island's working poor, homeless, unemployed and disenfranchised, many of whom are children. The late Sister Eileen Murphy founded Amos House as a house of
hospitality in 1976. It is a haven that welcomes the poor and provides
safety, food and fellowship. It is named after the Old Testament
prophet, Amos, who preached against social injustice.
Their bustling Social Service office provides a wide range of services including crisis intervention, emergency assistance, health care and housing. They provide transitional and permanent housing to 75 people each night, hundreds of people each year. On their busiest days, they serve 900 meals to their hungry neighbors. In addition to feeding people, the Amos House Culinary Education program develops participants' culinary skills while helping to feed children at the local Boys and Girls Club. And their new micro business Amos House Works employs their ACE program graduates while providing meals to some of their local charter schools.
The Friendship Café is the next step in the expansion of the Amos House micro-business model. The Café will offer new job and training opportunities to graduates of the ACE program and to residents of South Providence. In addition to meeting pressing social and community needs, the Café will also fill a market gap by creating an option for nutritious, affordable food in that section of the city.
Great Bay Foundation 253 Main St., Yarmouth, ME 04096
Tel: (207) 846-1131, (800) 744-8299 Fax: (207) 846-7877 info@greatbayfoundation.org
