Gerry's Café seeks sponsors for sold-out golf classic

Gerry's Café is proud to welcome golfers from the Chicago area to its first Gerry's Café Golf Classic at Old Orchard Country Club Monday, June 7.

This event, which sold out in eight days, will celebrate the progress made toward bringing Gerry's Cafe to fruition.

The mission of Gerry's Café is to be a one-of-a-kind cafe destination in Arlington Heights that will employ adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the community.

"Most organizations are very aware of and supportive of the need for diversity and inclusion. But, the truth is, that our population of disabled adults is not included in most of our communities and places of work. Eighty percent of adults with disabilities are unemployed," said Amy Philpott, co-founder of Gerry's Café.

"Gerry's Café can be the place that provides new job opportunities for people with disabilities, but also provides value and purpose to its employees."

"Our Gerry's Café Golf Classic is a tangible opportunity for community engagement - for business owners, the community and our future employees," said Natalie Griffin, co-founder of Gerry's Café.

"This is an opportunity for our community to interact with Gerry's future employees. Our Ambassadors, as we like to call them, will volunteer throughout the event."

One of the primary goals of the Gerry's Café Golf Classic is to help raise funds for the next phase of growth. As a result of generous donations and sponsorships, Gerry's Café met its initial fundraising goal of $500,000 in the first two years as a new nonprofit.

This impressive accomplishment illustrates the community support and enthusiasm for this type of business model. Now, Gerry's Café is focused on raising crucial funding dollars to pay for the first year of operating costs, including payroll, insurance and taxes, which is critical to any small business surviving its first year of operation.

A second campaign targets donors to fund the purchase of an accessible, refrigerated catering van.

If you are interested in sponsoring the Gerry's Café Golf Classic, visit bit.ly/GerrysGolf.

For additional sponsorship and donation opportunities, visit www.gerryscafe.org.