04/13/2026
Hi all, see below for an update about the cafe!
Hi all!
We wanted to give the community a bit of an update on Lee’s Cafe.
Here at Spark, our core mission has always been to create a space where youth feel welcomed, supported, and empowered to grow. Out of this commitment, the idea for Lee’s Café was born. Lee’s Café was created to empower youth by providing job training, life skills, and employment opportunities, while also fostering community connection through affordable food and beverages. Our goal was to build a supportive environment where youth could thrive, learn, and make meaningful contributions to their community.
With that mission in mind, we are incredibly proud to say: Lee’s Café has been a success. It is important to reflect on, and highlight what this initiative achieved: the youth cafe team gained valuable employment and workplace skills, they experienced the “behind the scenes” of starting and running a business, and perhaps most importantly, our youth helped create a space that feels like their own—welcoming and connected to community, and this impact is worth celebrating!
While we were undergoing renovations, we took the time to reflect on the success of the cafe initiative and as a non-profit organization, we realized we needed to be realistic about our capacity. Like many in the non-profit sector, we face limitations in funding and staffing, and at this time, we are unfortunately not able to sustain the café in its current model.
We are excited for the next chapter of Lee’s Café and want to be clear that this is not an ending, merely an evolution. Staying true to what we’ve learned from youth, we will be reimagining the café space as a free, quiet, welcoming gathering place. In partnership with the Healthy Kimberley Food Recovery Program, the space will offer youth free food, tea, and a comfortable environment where they can relax, study, or simply spend time together. The space will be in addition to the back section of the Spark building, with both spaces open to youth in grade 6+, after school until 6 pm Monday through Wednesday, Friday 2 - 5 pm and for grade 8+ on Thursday after school until 6 pm. There will also be special events planned for the space going forward.
