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1951 Coffee Company


2410 Channing Way, Berkeley, CA 94704
2160 Shattuck Square, Berkeley, CA 94704
1951 Coffee Company, founded in 2015, is a non-profit specialty coffee organization that promotes the well-being of the refugee community in the United States by providing job training and employment to refugees, asylees,
and special immigrant visa holders while educating the surrounding community about refugee life and issues. The name is derived from the UNHCR’s 1951 Refugee Convention which first defined and set forth guidelines for the protection of refugees. In the spirit of this convention, 1951 Coffee works with refugees to help them overcome the unique barriers they face in seeking and sustaining employment. Through their Barista Training Program, employment at their cafe, and ongoing job placement support, they break the barriers refugees and asylees face in pursuing the financial stability needed to have self-determination. Program participants learn more than just how to make quality coffee. They learn vocational English skills, customer service standards, U.S. workplace expectations and responsibilities, in addition to receiving ongoing support as they embark on their new career path. From their website, you can also access to the short documentary “No Single Origin”, about the complexity of refugee resettlement, and the creation of 1951 Coffee Company.