MOVE A MOUNTAIN MISSIONS

At the heart of the organization is our mission trips to Mustard Seed Communities, a home for abandoned children with disabilities in Jamaica. Mustard Seed provides loving and life-long care for over 600 residents. These trips have proven to be transformational for the high school and college students who have attended. Our mission team members realized very quickly that while they went to Jamaica to serve the residents at Mustard Seed, it was the residents who were helping us. Their gratitude and infectious joy was transforming our hearts and teaching us how to love. In addition to organizing these mission trips, we also sought to provide opportunities for our participants to serve the most vulnerable in Pittsburgh.

Another goal is to bring back a missionary charism of care for the most vulnerable to Pittsburgh and to help create a culture that recognizes the dignity of all people, in particular people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). They are a tremendous blessing for our community. We have realized this goal through the formation of Brother Andre's Cafe, a coffee shop that employs adults with IDD. While those with disabilities are not being abandoned in the streets of Pittsburgh like they were in Kingston, many persons with IDD do not feel welcomed into the broader community and have a difficult time finding their niche in society. The purpose of Brother Andre's is to provide meaningful employment for adults with IDD and to create an avenue for them to share their love and joy with the world. The cafe also seeks to be a place of Catholic community, especially for the broader IDD community through enrichment and educational events. In 2022 we increased to 13 employees with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. We launched an Occupational Therapy Vocational Program to help our employees gain confidence and grow in independence in the workplace. In October of 2023 we received a grant from the Edith L. Trees Foundation to fund the opening of a second cafe location at Assumption Church in Bellevue. We begin the design and build out of the cafe in 2024 and begin training new team members. Opening the new cafe enabled us to employ 12 more adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities bringing our total to 25. In 2024, We began preparing to open a second caf location, which would enable us to hire more team members with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and expand our impact. This build-out was completed with the new location officially opening in March 2025. In support of this growth, we significantly expanded our baking capacity and adjusted our operational approach by transitioning the bakery from a standalone production unit to an integrated supplier serving both caf locations through internal purchasing. This shift has enhanced operational efficiency, strengthened team collaboration, and allowed us to employ an additional 12 team members with IDD, bringing our total bakery workforce to 25, furthering our mission of meaningful employment and community inclusion.