May 22, 2025 • 31 mins
Imagine walking into a grocery store and seeing your name prominently displayed on a product lining the shelves. For most of us, that would be a remarkable moment. For the clients at St. John of God Community Services, it's a powerful affirmation of their value and contribution to society.
Luke Barnes, Director of Marketing Communications and Entrepreneurial Programs for St, John of God Community Services, takes us behind the scenes of Holy Grounds Coffee, a social enterprise creating meaningful employment for adults with special needs. What began as a solution to inconsistent contract work has blossomed into a purpose-driven business where clients participate in every step of coffee production – from roasting beans to packaging the final product.
The genius of Holy Grounds lies in its multilayered impact. Each coffee order creates multiple job opportunities, while every bag proudly displays the signatures of the clients who helped create it. "When they can walk into a store and see their name on a bag of coffee on the shelf – that's the special stuff," Barnes explains with palpable enthusiasm.
This initiative embodies the 600-year-old philosophy of their namesake saint: "Do good for yourself by doing good for others." The organization doesn't just create jobs; they've thoughtfully constructed a supply chain of kindness. They source beans exclusively from ethical, often women-owned farms, ensuring their positive impact extends globally while creating dignified opportunities locally.
Beyond coffee, St. John of God Community Services addresses community needs through innovative solutions like their mobile food pantry – a converted school bus bringing fresh produce and essential supplies directly to vulnerable populations. Rather than a typical handout model, they've designed a dignified shopping experience that preserves clients' agency and self-respect.
What resonates most throughout our conversation is the organization's deep commitment to seeing people with special needs as whole individuals with capabilities to contribute, not just needs to be met. As Barnes poignantly reminds us, "Everybody can do a little bit of good every single day... those small things really add up."
Ready to make a difference with your morning brew? Follow The Kindness Matters Podcast on social media and discover how organizations like St. John of God Community Services are creating ripples of positive change in their communities and beyond.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, hello there and welcome.
You are listening to theKindness Matters podcast and I
am your host, Mike Rathbun.
What is this podcast all about?
It's about kindness.
It's a pushback againsteverything negative that we see
in the news and on social mediatoday, and it's a way to
(00:20):
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If you want to join in on theconversation, feel free, Go
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We're on Facebook, Instagram,TikTok.
We're even on LinkedIn underMike Rathbun.
(00:42):
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Check us out and, in themeantime, so sit back, relax,
enjoy and we'll get into theKindness Matters podcast.
(01:03):
Hey, hello and welcome everybodyto the show.
My name is Mike Rathbun.
I'm your host.
Thank you so much for choosingto spend 30-ish minutes of your
time with us today.
I am so honored and so thankfulthat you chose to do that.
As I remind everybody, everytime I come on to one of these
shows, a new show.
If you hear something in thispodcast that you find uplifting
(01:31):
or just motivating or inspiring,please make sure to share it
with your family, your friends,your co workers.
It would mean the world to me.
Also, make sure to follow us onour socials.
Those links will be in the shownotes.
I have such a cool show for youguys today.
(01:52):
My guest today is Luke Barnes,and he is are you ready, See if
I can get through the wholething without mistakes?
The Director of MarketingCommunications and
Entrepreneurial Programs for StJohn of God Community Services.
I get it Indeed, yep, Welcome.
(02:13):
Welcome, Luke.
Thank you for coming on theshow.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Honestly, I thought I was going to screw up on
entrepreneurial.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
It's still in my title, but I misspell it all the
time.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Oh, thank God for spell check right.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
So now you guys are located in New Jersey, right?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Yes, we're located in Westville, New Jersey.
It's about like 15 minutesoutside of Philadelphia.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Okay, all right.
So, and you know, I neverfailed to be amazed at how many
different charities ornonprofits there are in the
world, and just it blows my mindthat there are so many people
(03:01):
out there doing so many goodthings, that there are so many
people out there doing so manygood things, but I had never
heard of, I mean, some of them.
You know right, goodwill orwhat have you.
I had never heard of St John ofGod's Community Services.
Who are those people?
Who are you guys?
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Yeah, so our specific location in Westville, New
Jersey, St John God CommunityServices, our specific location,
handles providing services toadults with special needs.
So we have a variety ofservices.
We have day programs whereclients, as we call them, which
are the adults with specialneeds that we service they come
in and just have a socialatmosphere that they can engage
(03:46):
in, they learn different skills,take care of themselves,
hygiene that is our House ofJohn program.
And then we have a whole notherprogram with 50 or so clients
where it's an employment program, so they come in and do piece
rate work.
So we've previously rolledt-shirts for the 76ers to shoot
out of their T-shirt guns andthey get paid for all the work
(04:09):
that they do.
And that is where Holy GroundsCoffee kind of comes into play.
But I'm sure we'll touch onthat.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Oh yeah, absolutely so, the 76ers huh.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yes, yeah, we've always worked with them, rolled
their T-shirts, and the clientslove that job.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
I would imagine yeah, I mean, how fun is that?
I mean, do they get to go togames and they get to see the
fruits of their labor being shotout?
Speaker 2 (04:35):
We haven't been able to take them to games.
A few of them do go on theirspare time or with their family
members.
We have some of the biggestPhiladelphia sports fans in
there.
I mean, you talk to them.
One of them, every single day,talks to me about the Phillies.
He comes in in Phillies gearfrom head to toe every single
day and they truly are just likethe biggest fans and they'll
(04:56):
tell you who they're playing,when they're playing, what time
they're playing.
Then, when the Eagles are on,it's a whole different
atmosphere.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Yeah, I was going gonna say you didn't mention the
eagles.
I'm thinking that's a missedopportunity for the eagles there
oh, yes, yes indeed well, nowum, the sixers aren't in it
anymore, right they're.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
They're done for the season no, so that kind of uh
ends the contracts early of whenwe're rolling these t-shirts,
which is sure um so uh.
But that is again why we tryand find more opportunities
where we can kind of work withthe clients sure, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Um, just a little shout out to my timber wolves,
because I'm in minnesota.
We're still in it.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
You're doing a lot better than us.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
I think they're doing better.
This is the second year in arow we've gotten to the Western
Conference finals.
So I mean knock wood, but Imean we dispatched Steph Curry
and the Warriors in five, so I'mnot going to complain.
So I think you kind of stole mythunder or not stole my thunder
(06:08):
.
You kind of went over.
One of my questions was goingto be what are all the programs
that you have in the community?
So when we talk about specialneeds clients and I love how you
guys refer to your the peoplewho work there or or or serve
there are referred to as clients.
(06:29):
Was that a?
Was that a natural choice?
Speaker 2 (06:35):
So no, actually previously before, ever since
I've been here for a little overtwo years, they've been known
as clients.
Previously they were known asconsumers.
Customers the termage, thewords used, are often dictated
by the state.
The state, every few years,comes up the new word and
apparently they're phasing outclients.
I don't know if we will phaseout clients.
(06:57):
I think that's a word thatreally has stuck for us and it's
because we say we're privilegedto serve them.
You know they are here andwe're serving them and we're
helping to provide for them andwe exist for them, similar to,
if you're a business, you kindof exist for the clients that
you work with.
Yeah, absolutely.
So that word kind of stuck forus.
Consumers doesn't kind of feelright because now it just feels
(07:19):
like we're selling something tothem when in reality, like no,
we're here, you know, trying tohelp them and provide for them.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Yeah, for sure, and I mean skipping back a little bit
.
Who is St John of God?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Perfect question, so I was hoping to get into it a
bit more.
So St John of God is a saintfrom Granada, spain.
So he grew up in Granada, spain.
He was kind of known as alunatic in Granada a bit,
because he was just crazy, goingout trying to do all these
things help all these people.
He used to take his clothes offand give it to a homeless
(07:58):
person.
He used to sell all of his foodaway and give it out to people.
At one point he was even lockedup in a hospital because they
thought he was a crazy person.
He was seen running into aburning building to go help
people and so next thing, youknow, he becomes the patron
saint of the sick and thehospital and then gets developed
(08:20):
the Hospitaller Order of StJohn of God, which is an order
under the Catholic Church withbrothers involved.
So our executive director hereis a brother of St John of God,
so he follows in the footstepsof St John of God and has
dedicated his life to servicefor this.
So with recent times, with thePope's passing, the Pope is
(08:43):
technically at the very top ofour order.
We answer to the Pope.
I don't directly answer to him,but the hospitality order
answers to him and that's who weanswer to.
So some brothers of St John ofGod were the caretakers for the
Pope, because John of God is thepatron saint of the sick.
(09:03):
So they were the caretakers forthe Pope.
They were there in the conclavecaring for some of the cardinal
members, and so then, now thishospitality order is located, we
have services in over 55countries, oh wow.
So, our small little area inWestfield, new Jersey.
(09:24):
We do a ton of amazing things,but we have a location in Miami,
camilla's house.
It's a huge, huge area for thehomeless.
The homeless.
They provide food, albuquerquehomeless addiction services.
We're in Toronto, we're inHamilton, Canada, then even in
(09:45):
Europe and South America we're alot of hospitals.
So John of God hospitals areall over the world providing
true medical services, andthat's actually what Worldwide
John of God is known for, whileeven here we're just special
medical services, and that'sactually what Worldwide John of
God is known for, while evenhere we're just special needs
services.
It's kind of a rare thing inthe order it's mainly hospitals,
(10:06):
but we try and service whereverwe can.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
It's your own little niche.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Yes, yeah, it started in.
We're actually celebrating our60th year, oh, good Thank you.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
We're actually celebrating our 60th year.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Oh, congrats, thank you.
We started in 1965 when thebrothers of St John of God first
came over from Ireland and theywere here to start a service.
Then it just kind of grew fromthere.
They saw that the special needspopulation needed assistance
and it's just grown and grownand grown.
I've only been here for alittle over two years, but we've
(10:37):
changed so much within thosetwo years, so over 60 years I'm
sure we've changed a ton.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Oh yeah, I'm sure, and that's the only constant is
change, right, exactly.
So now I'm a lapsed Catholic,so forgive me.
When we talk about orders, Iknow you have the Augustinians,
because I think Francis was anAugustinian.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
I'm not sure Francis was, but this new pope is an
Augustinian.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Okay, maybe that's where I got it from.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
I'm not sure.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Okay, and you've got the Jesuits and you've got.
Where does that all fit in with?
Speaker 2 (11:22):
and maybe you know, maybe we just need a little
quick catechism here.
So I wish I had the answer.
I am also kind of a lapsedCatholic, but people again think
, because I work here, like, oh,you know, you must be going to
be an altar boy.
You must be exactly, and I and Iused to be an altar boy, but
not anymore.
Um, but that's also kind of whyit's amazing working here is
that we have such a variety ofpeople and we are called St John
of God, but we're really herefor the services that we do and
(11:46):
that's what.
That is the main connectioneverybody has here.
But we are still a Catholicorder and so where do those come
in?
The Augustinians and the Johnof God order are pretty similar.
Augustinians and the John ofGod order are pretty similar.
I was learning from Brother Tom, our executive director, about
it and he said when he met PopeFrancis that Pope Francis
recognized him as a John of Godbrother because of the habit he
(12:08):
was wearing.
So the style of his habit issimilar to the Augustinian habit
in that they wear, but slightlydifferent, and Pope Francis
knew the difference andidentified him as a brother of
John of God.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
That's crazy.
That's crazy that the Popewould recognize I mean not him
personally, necessarily, but theorder that he was from and
acknowledge that.
That's so cool.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Yes, he actually.
The exact wording he used forhim was in Italian, I think, but
the translation is oh, you area do-good brother, because St
John of God is known for asaying of do good for yourself
by doing good for others, and sothey became known as the
do-good brothers according tothe Catholic Church, so we call
(12:53):
them the John of God brothershere, but in Europe and in Rome
they refer to them as thedo-good brothers.
Oh, the do-good hospital, thedo-good brothers hospital, which
just kind of you know, that'sthe perfect wording of like we
just try to do good.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
For sure.
Oh, I love that.
Do good for yourself by doinggood for others.
Did I get that right?
Yes, and that's so.
That's so true, because you canreally, really, really.
I mean doing kind acts or doingkind things for others really
helps you.
Ever since I've been focused onkindness it's been a couple of
(13:36):
years now I ever since I've beenfocused on kindness it's been a
couple of years now I cannottell you how much better my
mental health is just by byfocusing on people in
organizations like St John ofGod that do kind things for for
(14:00):
others and and and lead withthat.
So now I think we need to.
You guys do so much good work,but I really am interested in
how do I say it?
Coffee service, no.
Coffee business yes, holyGrounds Coffee.
I'll let you take it away fromthere.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Yes, so Holy grounds coffee.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
That's a great name.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Thank you.
So that was started in May 2021, as I said, and I took it over
as an intern in college.
Actually at Rowan University, Istudied marketing and supply
chain logistics and my senioryear I was like looking for an
internship, I saw a coffeecompany intern.
I was like, oh, that'sinteresting, I like coffee.
Then day two they kind of toldme like yeah, you're going to
(14:43):
run the whole business.
I said okay, oh, wow.
So I really started to learncoffee and learn how to taste
coffee and all of that.
But Holy Grounds is reallycreated again for the clients
that are in our fulfillmentcenter where they're here to
work.
You know, again, when thosecontracts dry up and the 76ers
get kicked out of the playoffsdon't make the playoffs um, we
(15:04):
need options for them to work.
So we need to fill the void andyou can't always rely on
external companies.
Kovat taught us that, as othercompanies closed down or didn't
bring their businesses back tous.
So we created, created aninternal company to again fill
that gap.
So we have a fully electricbellwether coffee roaster on
(15:24):
site in our kitchen, Zeroemissions, so it doesn't need
any gas piping.
There's no smoke that comes outof it.
It's a really really very smarttype of coffee roaster.
And our clients go back there.
They pick out the coffees thatwe're roasting, they throw it in
the machine and they roast thecoffee and then when, as the
(15:45):
orders come in, they're part ofthe packaging that they grind
all the coffee, weigh out thecoffee package, the coffee, Um,
and they're.
They truly love every singlestep of it.
Uh, and what's great is that,unlike rolling one t-shirt, an
order of coffee has so many jobs.
You have to roast the coffee.
You have to clean the dishesthat the coffee creates.
(16:07):
We have tons of bins that getoily.
You got to clean all thosedishes.
Packaging the coffee, grindingthe coffee it's multiple steps
providing jobs the whole wayBoxing up the coffee for
shipments, and so that providesjobs just all over the place.
Like one order of one bag ofcoffee provides, say, five jobs,
five opportunities for a clientto earn a paycheck.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Sure, absolutely.
That is so cool, cool and youcan rotate in like your t-shirt
cannon people.
When they don't have work to do, they can rotate in, but do you
have clients who work on that,regardless of what time of the
year it is?
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Yeah.
So the contracts for them forthe piece rate work for like our
large orders are prettyseasonal, but Holy Grounds runs
all year long.
We have a few clients that arepart-time workers, so they're
the ones that go back and do thecoffee roasting when they're
not doing other jobs.
They'll help with the coffeeroasting, help with the dishes,
help with five-pound bags forour wholesale customers.
(17:11):
Then every other client has theopportunity to package up the
12-ounce bags.
I actually have one here.
It's an ugly.
Every other client has theopportunity to package up the 12
ounce bags.
I actually have one here.
It's an ugly one right now, butyou can see on it.
There it is.
All their names are written allover the bags.
Oh the names of the clients.
Yeah, so the bag bag with theirgray signatures all over the bag
(17:33):
.
So when we say they'reliterally ingrained in the
coffee and in the business, theytruly every single bag that
goes out has their names on it.
Um, and so, yeah, they get topackage it up and as the orders
come in, we recently, for ourtoronto location uh, good,
shepherd ministries in toronto,they had a gala where they have
(17:53):
over 700 guests come, or over600 guests, and they placed an
order for 700 bags of coffeewhich we had to, you know,
quickly fill out, ship up tocanada.
Um, then they were giving usshout outs there and you know,
the clients are just so happy tosee their names on the bags
here here, holy grounds, coffeegets name announced.
(18:14):
Um, and you know, it's reallythey.
There's great reception.
Everybody was like sointerested in like what is this
random bag of coffee?
Why their names on it?
It's definitely the whole pointof it is to be a conversation
piece yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
And and this, this does so much for your clients
working in in that type of area,right, I mean, this brings it's
not just a job, really is it?
Speaker 2 (18:39):
no, it's really.
Um.
You know, what I love aboutcoffee is that it's a community
builder.
So, you know, your local cafeis like a community hub.
And coffee itself, you know,it's grown thousands of miles
away in africa.
It's grown in south america,it's grown on 100 different
farms that are then thrown intoone bag of one bag, gets thrown
(19:01):
onto a boat, shipped out to here, dragged to us, just so we can
roast it and you can enjoy onelittle, one little mug.
Right, and that is thecommunity.
You're truly connecting thewhole world with that.
And so the clients, you know,they feel that connection, they
are so happy, they go home like,oh, I'm going to go tell my mom
, tell my dad, tell my brothers,tell my uncle about the coffee.
(19:23):
I hope they buy a bag, which isgreat.
They're my best salespeople.
But you know, it shows thatthis is giving something that
they're involved with.
And so my job being trying togrow the company, sell to more
businesses, you know, hopefully,get onto a grocery store shelf.
We're on one grocery storeshelf, but if we get onto 10
grocery store shelves and theclients, can, you know, while
(19:46):
they're going to ShopRite or anygrocery store in the area, can
walk in and see their name, seetheir bag on the shelf.
You know that's the specialstuff that is, that's the juice,
that's the special stuff thatis.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
That's the juice.
Wow, I, yeah, I can't imaginebeing one of your clients and
walking into a grocery store andseeing, there on the shelf,
their name on a bag of coffee.
That would just that would blowthem away, wouldn't it?
Yeah, so where do you sourcethe coffee from Luke?
Speaker 2 (20:20):
So our coffee is sourced through our supplier,
which is Bellwether Coffee.
They identify farms all acrossthe world, normally with a good
variety.
So some of our best ones areRwanda, which is in Africa,
colombia coffee, brazil We'vehad Nicaragua coffee, we've had
Guatemala coffee.
But what Bellwether does, andthe reason we chose to work with
(20:42):
them, was not only for theirgreat coffee roaster, but it's
because they have some of thestrictest standards when it
comes to coffee sourcing.
So coffee is known for childabuse, child labor laws, slave
laws or slave labor, becauseit's all about making it cheap
and farming millions of acres ofland.
So Bellwether identifies farmsthat you know have a purpose
(21:06):
behind them, that are fair trade, certified, that are
organically grown, 100%women-owned farms, and what's
great about that is that thatadds to our mission, that adds
to our community behind thecoffee, because we can't be
again doing good if the coffee'ssourced from a slave labor farm
, right.
(21:26):
So making sure our coffee so welove this recent Mother's Day,
we picked three coffees thatwere all 100% women-owned farms
and we got to show them off, youknow, to show that you're
supporting mothers across theworld, you're supporting our
clients and mothers across theworld that in some of these
farms then donate their proceedsto local schools for hygiene
(21:48):
products for girls in school.
So every step of the way wetruly try and make it like
there's impact that can be felteverywhere.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Yeah, for sure.
So talk to me about yourclients.
Who are these people and how dothey come to be um coffee
roasters and coffee packagerswith you guys?
Speaker 2 (22:10):
yeah.
So, uh, our clients rate rangein age.
They're all 21 plus, because atleast in new jersey um,
generally 3 to 21.
They're schooling.
A lot of adults with specialneeds go to high school or some
type of school until they're 21.
But then after that there'slike nothing.
So the issue is that after highschool and when people become
(22:33):
adults, the state and a lot ofthe community is like okay, yeah
, they're an adult, they canhandle themselves now, which is
great.
Some of them do handlethemselves.
Some of them, some of ourclients, what our former
teachers.
A former history teacher is oneof our clients oh wow.
But over the years they degradeor whatnot and then they come
(22:54):
into our service.
But for most of our clientssome of them have been with us
for almost their entire lives,they've been with us for decades
.
But 21 to 24, they have to goout into the community and fail
at employment three times beforethey're allowed to be
considered for one of ourprograms.
Oh wow, and that's interesting.
(23:15):
That is a state law.
That is DVRS, which is division, division of vocational
rehabilitation.
Uh, that is one of the rules.
So that's a client going toWendy's.
I want to work at Wendy's butthey're not capable of working
at Wendy's.
Not that they can't do a job,but it's that the modern job
requires too many tasks.
So a common job was a grocerycart collector.
(23:38):
At a grocery store, you go out,you grab the carts, you bring
them back, but now you have todo that plus stock the shelves,
plus be a backup cashier, andit's a very dynamic role that
becomes difficult to navigatewhen a client has a lot more
going on in their brain or hasphysical disabilities, and
(23:59):
that's what makes it great aboutsome of them have been with us
for years and they choose to bewith us.
A lot of the public thinkswe're trapping them here.
No, we, we need you to work forus, like.
No they.
They choose to be with usbecause some of them have had
part-time jobs and have quitbecause, like I, don't like
mcdonald's, I want to talk topeople, but they only let me
clean the bathrooms, whichbecomes difficult for a client
(24:23):
who can talk all day.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Wow, okay, yeah, so, and I'm just, I love the work
and I see so much good in theworld kindness in the world come
out of coffee.
I recently had a conversationwith a gentleman who saw a
(24:52):
homeless encampment inMinneapolis and thought about
ways that he could support thatand started a coffee shop north
of me here and he employshomeless youth primarily,
teaches them job skills and thattype of thing, and so, and as a
(25:12):
big fan of coffee, I absolutelylove this story and I love what
you guys are doing.
I know there's so much morethat you guys do in the world.
You even have a mobile foodshelf that will go into food
deserts.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
Yes, yeah, our mobile food pantry.
So that was started 2022 or so,and basically we have always
had a food pantry on site wheredifferent community members will
reach out asking for differentfood donations, and we always
try and accommodate as we can.
But sometimes people can't cometo our location and pick up
(25:56):
food, not coffee, which makes itdifficult for them, because if
you're already struggling tofind food, then you can't even
pick up free food makes it extradifficult.
So we sourced a old school busand interesting fun fact, school
buses, after a certain amountof miles or after they're no
longer in service, can no longerbe the color yellow, and so our
(26:21):
school bus is now a whiteschool bus and it's fully
wrapped with artwork about StJohn of God, about giving, as a
fully custom artwork that Ithink Holy Grounds Coffee Bag is
even located in the artwork,which is really cool, oh nice,
and so, yeah, so we load that upwith local produce from
different farms that are donated, which is great, because
(26:41):
oftentimes when you go to a foodshelter they don't have fresh
produce, but we get freshproduce donated.
We create ready-to-go bags withgood food, so rice, tuna,
peanut butter, like shelf-stablefoods.
Then we also have hygieneproducts as well.
And we go out to differentcommunity partners, community
(27:03):
centers.
We've gone to a veteran's place, a nursing home and the Boys
and Girls Club.
They invite us out and we justhave a fully nice food pantry
that they can come on board anddo a little shopping.
Almost it's very nice inside,so it feels like it's not
(27:23):
degrading.
We're not just handing them abag and saying, all right, get
out of here.
They get an experience ofcoming on board, getting to do
some shopping, pick out theproduce they want, pick out the
hygiene products they need, andeverybody's really had like such
a wonderful experience with it.
They are always so shocked withhow nice it is inside and it
really is a beautiful renovationthat they did to the school bus
(27:45):
and they just kind of um, youknow, get to experience that
dignity that you know we hopethat they would get to
experience every single dayabsolutely, and that you guys
are doing such good work.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
luke, I really, really, really appreciate um you
taking a few minutes to come onand talk about it and, honest
to gosh, god bless you for whatyou guys do.
And, yeah, let's see if we canget some Holy Grounds coffee out
in the Midwest.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Yeah, thank you.
We're always happy to talkabout what we do.
Our purpose is to spread ourmission.
It's another thing why HolyGrounds is made to spread our
mission of doing good, our.
You know, our primary coffeeblend is called our Do Good
Blend.
Again, just a subtle reminderof what we're trying to do and
what we think everybody can do.
You know, everybody can do alittle bit of good every single
(28:43):
day.
You know it doesn't take much.
You can just do that one tinything, even if, again, you know
we work with people with specialneeds.
If you see somebody withspecial needs, you don't have to
treat them differently.
They live their own life.
But saying hi to them, engagingwith them they're all great
things to do and while I'msaying this, I'm getting chills
getting to share this message,but it's really like those small
(29:11):
things really add up in theirlives and just treating them
with respect and you know, therespect that you would want your
son or daughter, or how youyourself wouldn't want to be
treated, is exactly what is whatthey need.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
Absolutely.
I can't say it any better thanthat.
That's perfect.
Thank you, luke.
Luke Barnes, with St John of GodCommunity Services, appreciate
your time and I hope you have agreat week We'll talk to you
soon for taking this time tolisten to this episode with my
(29:48):
guest, luke Barnes from St Johnof God's Community Services.
I hope that you were able totake something positive from
this episode, from the time thatyou spent here with us today
and you know what?
Maybe you'll be inspired, maybeyou'll be motivated, maybe
you'll be moved.
If you experienced any of thosepositive feelings, please,
please consider sharing thispodcast with your friends and
(30:10):
family.
I'm always striving to offeryou a better podcast, so feel
free to give me some feedback.
Let me know how you think I'mdoing, email me, leave me a
message on any of our socialmedia platforms and, speaking of
social media platforms, feelfree to follow us on all of them
, like Facebook, instagram,linkedin and TikTok.
(30:33):
It would mean the world to us.
This podcast is part of theMayday Media Network.
If you have an idea for apodcast and need some production
assistance, or if you alreadyhave a podcast and are looking
for a supportive network to join, check out
maydaymedianetworkcom and makesure to check out the many
(30:56):
different shows.
They have, like Afrocentric,spoiled my Movie Generation
Mixtape In a Pickle Radio Show,wake Up and Dream with D'Anthony
Palin, staxo, pax and the TimePals.
We'll be back again next weekwith a new episode and we would
(31:18):
be honored if you would join us.
You've been listening to theKindness Matters Podcast.
I'm your host, mike Rathbun.
Have a fantastic week.
Well, hello there and welcome.
You are listening to theKindness Matters podcast and I
am your host, Mike Rathbun.
What is this podcast all about?
It's about kindness.
It's a pushback againsteverything negative that we see
in the news and on social mediatoday, and it's a way to
(00:20):
highlight people, organizationsthat are simply striving to make
their little corner of theworld a little better place.
If you want to join in on theconversation, feel free, Go
ahead and follow us on all ofyour social media feeds.
We're on Facebook, Instagram,TikTok.
We're even on LinkedIn underMike Rathbun.
(00:42):
Check us out.
Or we're even on LinkedIn underMike Rathbun.
Check us out and, in themeantime, so sit back, relax,
enjoy and we'll get into theKindness Matters podcast.
(01:03):
Hey, hello and welcome everybodyto the show.
My name is Mike Rathbun.
I'm your host.
Thank you so much for choosingto spend 30-ish minutes of your
time with us today.
I am so honored and so thankfulthat you chose to do that.
As I remind everybody, everytime I come on to one of these
shows, a new show.
If you hear something in thispodcast that you find uplifting
(01:31):
or just motivating or inspiring,please make sure to share it
with your family, your friends,your co workers.
It would mean the world to me.
Also, make sure to follow us onour socials.
Those links will be in the shownotes.
I have such a cool show for youguys today.
(01:52):
My guest today is Luke Barnes,and he is are you ready, See if
I can get through the wholething without mistakes?
The Director of MarketingCommunications and
Entrepreneurial Programs for StJohn of God Community Services.
I get it Indeed, yep, Welcome.
(02:13):
Welcome, Luke.
Thank you for coming on theshow.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Honestly, I thought I was going to screw up on
entrepreneurial.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
It's still in my title, but I misspell it all the
time.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Oh, thank God for spell check right.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
So now you guys are located in New Jersey, right?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Yes, we're located in Westville, New Jersey.
It's about like 15 minutesoutside of Philadelphia.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Okay, all right.
So, and you know, I neverfailed to be amazed at how many
different charities ornonprofits there are in the
world, and just it blows my mindthat there are so many people
(03:01):
out there doing so many goodthings, that there are so many
people out there doing so manygood things, but I had never
heard of, I mean, some of them.
You know right, goodwill orwhat have you.
I had never heard of St John ofGod's Community Services.
Who are those people?
Who are you guys?
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Yeah, so our specific location in Westville, New
Jersey, St John God CommunityServices, our specific location,
handles providing services toadults with special needs.
So we have a variety ofservices.
We have day programs whereclients, as we call them, which
are the adults with specialneeds that we service they come
in and just have a socialatmosphere that they can engage
(03:46):
in, they learn different skills,take care of themselves,
hygiene that is our House ofJohn program.
And then we have a whole notherprogram with 50 or so clients
where it's an employment program, so they come in and do piece
rate work.
So we've previously rolledt-shirts for the 76ers to shoot
out of their T-shirt guns andthey get paid for all the work
(04:09):
that they do.
And that is where Holy GroundsCoffee kind of comes into play.
But I'm sure we'll touch onthat.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Oh yeah, absolutely so, the 76ers huh.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yes, yeah, we've always worked with them, rolled
their T-shirts, and the clientslove that job.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
I would imagine yeah, I mean, how fun is that?
I mean, do they get to go togames and they get to see the
fruits of their labor being shotout?
Speaker 2 (04:35):
We haven't been able to take them to games.
A few of them do go on theirspare time or with their family
members.
We have some of the biggestPhiladelphia sports fans in
there.
I mean, you talk to them.
One of them, every single day,talks to me about the Phillies.
He comes in in Phillies gearfrom head to toe every single
day and they truly are just likethe biggest fans and they'll
(04:56):
tell you who they're playing,when they're playing, what time
they're playing.
Then, when the Eagles are on,it's a whole different
atmosphere.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Yeah, I was going gonna say you didn't mention the
eagles.
I'm thinking that's a missedopportunity for the eagles there
oh, yes, yes indeed well, nowum, the sixers aren't in it
anymore, right they're.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
They're done for the season no, so that kind of uh
ends the contracts early of whenwe're rolling these t-shirts,
which is sure um so uh.
But that is again why we tryand find more opportunities
where we can kind of work withthe clients sure, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Um, just a little shout out to my timber wolves,
because I'm in minnesota.
We're still in it.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
You're doing a lot better than us.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
I think they're doing better.
This is the second year in arow we've gotten to the Western
Conference finals.
So I mean knock wood, but Imean we dispatched Steph Curry
and the Warriors in five, so I'mnot going to complain.
So I think you kind of stole mythunder or not stole my thunder
(06:08):
.
You kind of went over.
One of my questions was goingto be what are all the programs
that you have in the community?
So when we talk about specialneeds clients and I love how you
guys refer to your the peoplewho work there or or or serve
there are referred to as clients.
(06:29):
Was that a?
Was that a natural choice?
Speaker 2 (06:35):
So no, actually previously before, ever since
I've been here for a little overtwo years, they've been known
as clients.
Previously they were known asconsumers.
Customers the termage, thewords used, are often dictated
by the state.
The state, every few years,comes up the new word and
apparently they're phasing outclients.
I don't know if we will phaseout clients.
(06:57):
I think that's a word thatreally has stuck for us and it's
because we say we're privilegedto serve them.
You know they are here andwe're serving them and we're
helping to provide for them andwe exist for them, similar to,
if you're a business, you kindof exist for the clients that
you work with.
Yeah, absolutely.
So that word kind of stuck forus.
Consumers doesn't kind of feelright because now it just feels
(07:19):
like we're selling something tothem when in reality, like no,
we're here, you know, trying tohelp them and provide for them.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Yeah, for sure, and I mean skipping back a little bit
.
Who is St John of God?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Perfect question, so I was hoping to get into it a
bit more.
So St John of God is a saintfrom Granada, spain.
So he grew up in Granada, spain.
He was kind of known as alunatic in Granada a bit,
because he was just crazy, goingout trying to do all these
things help all these people.
He used to take his clothes offand give it to a homeless
(07:58):
person.
He used to sell all of his foodaway and give it out to people.
At one point he was even lockedup in a hospital because they
thought he was a crazy person.
He was seen running into aburning building to go help
people and so next thing, youknow, he becomes the patron
saint of the sick and thehospital and then gets developed
(08:20):
the Hospitaller Order of StJohn of God, which is an order
under the Catholic Church withbrothers involved.
So our executive director hereis a brother of St John of God,
so he follows in the footstepsof St John of God and has
dedicated his life to servicefor this.
So with recent times, with thePope's passing, the Pope is
(08:43):
technically at the very top ofour order.
We answer to the Pope.
I don't directly answer to him,but the hospitality order
answers to him and that's who weanswer to.
So some brothers of St John ofGod were the caretakers for the
Pope, because John of God is thepatron saint of the sick.
(09:03):
So they were the caretakers forthe Pope.
They were there in the conclavecaring for some of the cardinal
members, and so then, now thishospitality order is located, we
have services in over 55countries, oh wow.
So, our small little area inWestfield, new Jersey.
(09:24):
We do a ton of amazing things,but we have a location in Miami,
camilla's house.
It's a huge, huge area for thehomeless.
The homeless.
They provide food, albuquerquehomeless addiction services.
We're in Toronto, we're inHamilton, Canada, then even in
(09:45):
Europe and South America we're alot of hospitals.
So John of God hospitals areall over the world providing
true medical services, andthat's actually what Worldwide
John of God is known for, whileeven here we're just special
medical services, and that'sactually what Worldwide John of
God is known for, while evenhere we're just special needs
services.
It's kind of a rare thing inthe order it's mainly hospitals,
(10:06):
but we try and service whereverwe can.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
It's your own little niche.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Yes, yeah, it started in.
We're actually celebrating our60th year, oh, good Thank you.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
We're actually celebrating our 60th year.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Oh, congrats, thank you.
We started in 1965 when thebrothers of St John of God first
came over from Ireland and theywere here to start a service.
Then it just kind of grew fromthere.
They saw that the special needspopulation needed assistance
and it's just grown and grownand grown.
I've only been here for alittle over two years, but we've
(10:37):
changed so much within thosetwo years, so over 60 years I'm
sure we've changed a ton.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Oh yeah, I'm sure, and that's the only constant is
change, right, exactly.
So now I'm a lapsed Catholic,so forgive me.
When we talk about orders, Iknow you have the Augustinians,
because I think Francis was anAugustinian.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
I'm not sure Francis was, but this new pope is an
Augustinian.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Okay, maybe that's where I got it from.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
I'm not sure.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Okay, and you've got the Jesuits and you've got.
Where does that all fit in with?
Speaker 2 (11:22):
and maybe you know, maybe we just need a little
quick catechism here.
So I wish I had the answer.
I am also kind of a lapsedCatholic, but people again think
, because I work here, like, oh,you know, you must be going to
be an altar boy.
You must be exactly, and I and Iused to be an altar boy, but
not anymore.
Um, but that's also kind of whyit's amazing working here is
that we have such a variety ofpeople and we are called St John
of God, but we're really herefor the services that we do and
(11:46):
that's what.
That is the main connectioneverybody has here.
But we are still a Catholicorder and so where do those come
in?
The Augustinians and the Johnof God order are pretty similar.
Augustinians and the John ofGod order are pretty similar.
I was learning from Brother Tom, our executive director, about
it and he said when he met PopeFrancis that Pope Francis
recognized him as a John of Godbrother because of the habit he
(12:08):
was wearing.
So the style of his habit issimilar to the Augustinian habit
in that they wear, but slightlydifferent, and Pope Francis
knew the difference andidentified him as a brother of
John of God.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
That's crazy.
That's crazy that the Popewould recognize I mean not him
personally, necessarily, but theorder that he was from and
acknowledge that.
That's so cool.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Yes, he actually.
The exact wording he used forhim was in Italian, I think, but
the translation is oh, you area do-good brother, because St
John of God is known for asaying of do good for yourself
by doing good for others, and sothey became known as the
do-good brothers according tothe Catholic Church, so we call
(12:53):
them the John of God brothershere, but in Europe and in Rome
they refer to them as thedo-good brothers.
Oh, the do-good hospital, thedo-good brothers hospital, which
just kind of you know, that'sthe perfect wording of like we
just try to do good.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
For sure.
Oh, I love that.
Do good for yourself by doinggood for others.
Did I get that right?
Yes, and that's so.
That's so true, because you canreally, really, really.
I mean doing kind acts or doingkind things for others really
helps you.
Ever since I've been focused onkindness it's been a couple of
(13:36):
years now I ever since I've beenfocused on kindness it's been a
couple of years now I cannottell you how much better my
mental health is just by byfocusing on people in
organizations like St John ofGod that do kind things for for
(14:00):
others and and and lead withthat.
So now I think we need to.
You guys do so much good work,but I really am interested in
how do I say it?
Coffee service, no.
Coffee business yes, holyGrounds Coffee.
I'll let you take it away fromthere.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Yes, so Holy grounds coffee.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
That's a great name.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Thank you.
So that was started in May 2021, as I said, and I took it over
as an intern in college.
Actually at Rowan University, Istudied marketing and supply
chain logistics and my senioryear I was like looking for an
internship, I saw a coffeecompany intern.
I was like, oh, that'sinteresting, I like coffee.
Then day two they kind of toldme like yeah, you're going to
(14:43):
run the whole business.
I said okay, oh, wow.
So I really started to learncoffee and learn how to taste
coffee and all of that.
But Holy Grounds is reallycreated again for the clients
that are in our fulfillmentcenter where they're here to
work.
You know, again, when thosecontracts dry up and the 76ers
get kicked out of the playoffsdon't make the playoffs um, we
(15:04):
need options for them to work.
So we need to fill the void andyou can't always rely on
external companies.
Kovat taught us that, as othercompanies closed down or didn't
bring their businesses back tous.
So we created, created aninternal company to again fill
that gap.
So we have a fully electricbellwether coffee roaster on
(15:24):
site in our kitchen, Zeroemissions, so it doesn't need
any gas piping.
There's no smoke that comes outof it.
It's a really really very smarttype of coffee roaster.
And our clients go back there.
They pick out the coffees thatwe're roasting, they throw it in
the machine and they roast thecoffee and then when, as the
(15:45):
orders come in, they're part ofthe packaging that they grind
all the coffee, weigh out thecoffee package, the coffee, Um,
and they're.
They truly love every singlestep of it.
Uh, and what's great is that,unlike rolling one t-shirt, an
order of coffee has so many jobs.
You have to roast the coffee.
You have to clean the dishesthat the coffee creates.
(16:07):
We have tons of bins that getoily.
You got to clean all thosedishes.
Packaging the coffee, grindingthe coffee it's multiple steps
providing jobs the whole wayBoxing up the coffee for
shipments, and so that providesjobs just all over the place.
Like one order of one bag ofcoffee provides, say, five jobs,
five opportunities for a clientto earn a paycheck.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Sure, absolutely.
That is so cool, cool and youcan rotate in like your t-shirt
cannon people.
When they don't have work to do, they can rotate in, but do you
have clients who work on that,regardless of what time of the
year it is?
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Yeah.
So the contracts for them forthe piece rate work for like our
large orders are prettyseasonal, but Holy Grounds runs
all year long.
We have a few clients that arepart-time workers, so they're
the ones that go back and do thecoffee roasting when they're
not doing other jobs.
They'll help with the coffeeroasting, help with the dishes,
help with five-pound bags forour wholesale customers.
(17:11):
Then every other client has theopportunity to package up the
12-ounce bags.
I actually have one here.
It's an ugly.
Every other client has theopportunity to package up the 12
ounce bags.
I actually have one here.
It's an ugly one right now, butyou can see on it.
There it is.
All their names are written allover the bags.
Oh the names of the clients.
Yeah, so the bag bag with theirgray signatures all over the bag
(17:33):
.
So when we say they'reliterally ingrained in the
coffee and in the business, theytruly every single bag that
goes out has their names on it.
Um, and so, yeah, they get topackage it up and as the orders
come in, we recently, for ourtoronto location uh, good,
shepherd ministries in toronto,they had a gala where they have
(17:53):
over 700 guests come, or over600 guests, and they placed an
order for 700 bags of coffeewhich we had to, you know,
quickly fill out, ship up tocanada.
Um, then they were giving usshout outs there and you know,
the clients are just so happy tosee their names on the bags
here here, holy grounds, coffeegets name announced.
(18:14):
Um, and you know, it's reallythey.
There's great reception.
Everybody was like sointerested in like what is this
random bag of coffee?
Why their names on it?
It's definitely the whole pointof it is to be a conversation
piece yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
And and this, this does so much for your clients
working in in that type of area,right, I mean, this brings it's
not just a job, really is it?
Speaker 2 (18:39):
no, it's really.
Um.
You know, what I love aboutcoffee is that it's a community
builder.
So, you know, your local cafeis like a community hub.
And coffee itself, you know,it's grown thousands of miles
away in africa.
It's grown in south america,it's grown on 100 different
farms that are then thrown intoone bag of one bag, gets thrown
(19:01):
onto a boat, shipped out to here, dragged to us, just so we can
roast it and you can enjoy onelittle, one little mug.
Right, and that is thecommunity.
You're truly connecting thewhole world with that.
And so the clients, you know,they feel that connection, they
are so happy, they go home like,oh, I'm going to go tell my mom
, tell my dad, tell my brothers,tell my uncle about the coffee.
(19:23):
I hope they buy a bag, which isgreat.
They're my best salespeople.
But you know, it shows thatthis is giving something that
they're involved with.
And so my job being trying togrow the company, sell to more
businesses, you know, hopefully,get onto a grocery store shelf.
We're on one grocery storeshelf, but if we get onto 10
grocery store shelves and theclients, can, you know, while
(19:46):
they're going to ShopRite or anygrocery store in the area, can
walk in and see their name, seetheir bag on the shelf.
You know that's the specialstuff that is, that's the juice,
that's the special stuff thatis.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
That's the juice.
Wow, I, yeah, I can't imaginebeing one of your clients and
walking into a grocery store andseeing, there on the shelf,
their name on a bag of coffee.
That would just that would blowthem away, wouldn't it?
Yeah, so where do you sourcethe coffee from Luke?
Speaker 2 (20:20):
So our coffee is sourced through our supplier,
which is Bellwether Coffee.
They identify farms all acrossthe world, normally with a good
variety.
So some of our best ones areRwanda, which is in Africa,
colombia coffee, brazil We'vehad Nicaragua coffee, we've had
Guatemala coffee.
But what Bellwether does, andthe reason we chose to work with
(20:42):
them, was not only for theirgreat coffee roaster, but it's
because they have some of thestrictest standards when it
comes to coffee sourcing.
So coffee is known for childabuse, child labor laws, slave
laws or slave labor, becauseit's all about making it cheap
and farming millions of acres ofland.
So Bellwether identifies farmsthat you know have a purpose
(21:06):
behind them, that are fair trade, certified, that are
organically grown, 100%women-owned farms, and what's
great about that is that thatadds to our mission, that adds
to our community behind thecoffee, because we can't be
again doing good if the coffee'ssourced from a slave labor farm
, right.
(21:26):
So making sure our coffee so welove this recent Mother's Day,
we picked three coffees thatwere all 100% women-owned farms
and we got to show them off, youknow, to show that you're
supporting mothers across theworld, you're supporting our
clients and mothers across theworld that in some of these
farms then donate their proceedsto local schools for hygiene
(21:48):
products for girls in school.
So every step of the way wetruly try and make it like
there's impact that can be felteverywhere.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Yeah, for sure.
So talk to me about yourclients.
Who are these people and how dothey come to be um coffee
roasters and coffee packagerswith you guys?
Speaker 2 (22:10):
yeah.
So, uh, our clients rate rangein age.
They're all 21 plus, because atleast in new jersey um,
generally 3 to 21.
They're schooling.
A lot of adults with specialneeds go to high school or some
type of school until they're 21.
But then after that there'slike nothing.
So the issue is that after highschool and when people become
(22:33):
adults, the state and a lot ofthe community is like okay, yeah
, they're an adult, they canhandle themselves now, which is
great.
Some of them do handlethemselves.
Some of them, some of ourclients, what our former
teachers.
A former history teacher is oneof our clients oh wow.
But over the years they degradeor whatnot and then they come
(22:54):
into our service.
But for most of our clientssome of them have been with us
for almost their entire lives,they've been with us for decades
.
But 21 to 24, they have to goout into the community and fail
at employment three times beforethey're allowed to be
considered for one of ourprograms.
Oh wow, and that's interesting.
(23:15):
That is a state law.
That is DVRS, which is division, division of vocational
rehabilitation.
Uh, that is one of the rules.
So that's a client going toWendy's.
I want to work at Wendy's butthey're not capable of working
at Wendy's.
Not that they can't do a job,but it's that the modern job
requires too many tasks.
So a common job was a grocerycart collector.
(23:38):
At a grocery store, you go out,you grab the carts, you bring
them back, but now you have todo that plus stock the shelves,
plus be a backup cashier, andit's a very dynamic role that
becomes difficult to navigatewhen a client has a lot more
going on in their brain or hasphysical disabilities, and
(23:59):
that's what makes it great aboutsome of them have been with us
for years and they choose to bewith us.
A lot of the public thinkswe're trapping them here.
No, we, we need you to work forus, like.
No they.
They choose to be with usbecause some of them have had
part-time jobs and have quitbecause, like I, don't like
mcdonald's, I want to talk topeople, but they only let me
clean the bathrooms, whichbecomes difficult for a client
(24:23):
who can talk all day.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Wow, okay, yeah, so, and I'm just, I love the work
and I see so much good in theworld kindness in the world come
out of coffee.
I recently had a conversationwith a gentleman who saw a
(24:52):
homeless encampment inMinneapolis and thought about
ways that he could support thatand started a coffee shop north
of me here and he employshomeless youth primarily,
teaches them job skills and thattype of thing, and so, and as a
(25:12):
big fan of coffee, I absolutelylove this story and I love what
you guys are doing.
I know there's so much morethat you guys do in the world.
You even have a mobile foodshelf that will go into food
deserts.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
Yes, yeah, our mobile food pantry.
So that was started 2022 or so,and basically we have always
had a food pantry on site wheredifferent community members will
reach out asking for differentfood donations, and we always
try and accommodate as we can.
But sometimes people can't cometo our location and pick up
(25:56):
food, not coffee, which makes itdifficult for them, because if
you're already struggling tofind food, then you can't even
pick up free food makes it extradifficult.
So we sourced a old school busand interesting fun fact, school
buses, after a certain amountof miles or after they're no
longer in service, can no longerbe the color yellow, and so our
(26:21):
school bus is now a whiteschool bus and it's fully
wrapped with artwork about StJohn of God, about giving, as a
fully custom artwork that Ithink Holy Grounds Coffee Bag is
even located in the artwork,which is really cool, oh nice,
and so, yeah, so we load that upwith local produce from
different farms that are donated, which is great, because
(26:41):
oftentimes when you go to a foodshelter they don't have fresh
produce, but we get freshproduce donated.
We create ready-to-go bags withgood food, so rice, tuna,
peanut butter, like shelf-stablefoods.
Then we also have hygieneproducts as well.
And we go out to differentcommunity partners, community
(27:03):
centers.
We've gone to a veteran's place, a nursing home and the Boys
and Girls Club.
They invite us out and we justhave a fully nice food pantry
that they can come on board anddo a little shopping.
Almost it's very nice inside,so it feels like it's not
(27:23):
degrading.
We're not just handing them abag and saying, all right, get
out of here.
They get an experience ofcoming on board, getting to do
some shopping, pick out theproduce they want, pick out the
hygiene products they need, andeverybody's really had like such
a wonderful experience with it.
They are always so shocked withhow nice it is inside and it
really is a beautiful renovationthat they did to the school bus
(27:45):
and they just kind of um, youknow, get to experience that
dignity that you know we hopethat they would get to
experience every single dayabsolutely, and that you guys
are doing such good work.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
luke, I really, really, really appreciate um you
taking a few minutes to come onand talk about it and, honest
to gosh, god bless you for whatyou guys do.
And, yeah, let's see if we canget some Holy Grounds coffee out
in the Midwest.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Yeah, thank you.
We're always happy to talkabout what we do.
Our purpose is to spread ourmission.
It's another thing why HolyGrounds is made to spread our
mission of doing good, our.
You know, our primary coffeeblend is called our Do Good
Blend.
Again, just a subtle reminderof what we're trying to do and
what we think everybody can do.
You know, everybody can do alittle bit of good every single
(28:43):
day.
You know it doesn't take much.
You can just do that one tinything, even if, again, you know
we work with people with specialneeds.
If you see somebody withspecial needs, you don't have to
treat them differently.
They live their own life.
But saying hi to them, engagingwith them they're all great
things to do and while I'msaying this, I'm getting chills
getting to share this message,but it's really like those small
(29:11):
things really add up in theirlives and just treating them
with respect and you know, therespect that you would want your
son or daughter, or how youyourself wouldn't want to be
treated, is exactly what is whatthey need.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
Absolutely.
I can't say it any better thanthat.
That's perfect.
Thank you, luke.
Luke Barnes, with St John of GodCommunity Services, appreciate
your time and I hope you have agreat week We'll talk to you
soon for taking this time tolisten to this episode with my
(29:48):
guest, luke Barnes from St Johnof God's Community Services.
I hope that you were able totake something positive from
this episode, from the time thatyou spent here with us today
and you know what?
Maybe you'll be inspired, maybeyou'll be motivated, maybe
you'll be moved.
If you experienced any of thosepositive feelings, please,
please consider sharing thispodcast with your friends and
(30:10):
family.
I'm always striving to offeryou a better podcast, so feel
free to give me some feedback.
Let me know how you think I'mdoing, email me, leave me a
message on any of our socialmedia platforms and, speaking of
social media platforms, feelfree to follow us on all of them
, like Facebook, instagram,linkedin and TikTok.
(30:33):
It would mean the world to us.
This podcast is part of theMayday Media Network.
If you have an idea for apodcast and need some production
assistance, or if you alreadyhave a podcast and are looking
for a supportive network to join, check out
maydaymedianetworkcom and makesure to check out the many
(30:56):
different shows.
They have, like Afrocentric,spoiled my Movie Generation
Mixtape In a Pickle Radio Show,wake Up and Dream with D'Anthony
Palin, staxo, pax and the TimePals.
We'll be back again next weekwith a new episode and we would
(31:18):
be honored if you would join us.
You've been listening to theKindness Matters Podcast.
I'm your host, mike Rathbun.
Have a fantastic week.
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