Variety’s cafes on MCCC’s Blue Bell Campus serve as vocational training centers for young adults with disabilities. Photo by Linda Johnson
Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) and Variety – the Children’s Charity of the Delaware Valley recently celebrated a new partnership involving the opening of two community-based cafés on MCCC’s Blue Bell Campus.
The cafés not only provide convenient on-campus food options for MCCC students, employees and visitors, but they also serve as an expansion of Variety’s vocational training services. Through this initiative, young adults with disabilities have meaningful, inclusive opportunities to develop essential life and career skills, build confidence, and thrive with greater independence as they transition into adulthood.
During a special ribbon-cutting event on Nov. 10, MCCC and Variety celebrated the official opening of the cafés located in Parkhouse Hall and the Health Sciences Center on the Blue Bell Campus. The cafés mark the first time Variety has established vocational centers on a college campus.
“The cafés mean much more than delicious coffee and food: they are training sites, empowering individuals with disabilities through hands-on experience, skill-building and community engagement,” said Dr. Vicki Bastecki-Perez, MCCC President. “This collaboration is a power reflection of both the College’s mission to transform lives through high-quality education and workforce development and Variety’s core pillars of education and vocational training.”
“As we partnered with Montco to operate these two new food site service stands, they double as vocational training sites for young adults with disabilities who have graduated from high school and are trying to figure out what’s next,” said Dominique Bernardo, CEO of Variety, the Children’s Charity of the Delaware Valley. “And that’s something that Variety helps to do with all parents and young adults – help answer the question of what’s next.”
For 90 years, Variety has been enriching the lives of children and young adults with disabilities and empowering them with a wide range of services. Its 77-acre property in Worcester Township, Montgomery County, serves as the headquarters for recreational programs, educational services and vocational training. Variety provides services across Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
The Parkhouse Hall Café is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the Health Sciences Center Café is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. The cafés serve an array of breakfast sandwiches, smoothies, paninis, pizzas, parfaits, coffee and more.
