Coffee with... Jeannette @ Yeganeh Bakery & Kafé Unik

My first coffee with…

Two weeks ago I met for coffee with Jeannette Weedermann. She is the first one in a long row (I’m hoping) of wonderful expat women living in the US.

Jeannette is a fellow German who has been living in Santa Clara for the last 17 years. She was born in Finowfurt (close to Eberswalde) in the state of Brandenburg. She studied European Ethnology and Education Sciences at the Humboldt University in Berlin. After moving to the US, Jeannette went to Foothill College to study Early Childhood Development. She worked at the Alto School (former GAIS) as a preschool and Kindergarten teacher. Jeannette is married to a German engineer and they have two children, a teenage daughter and an 11-year old son. She’s been always active in her community. She’s been working at the parent participation preschool of her children, has been part of the school board of her kids Elementary and Middle School.

As is well known, Germans can count on social assistance while Americans can’t rely on any official support and even young people are not necessarily cushioned by a social net. That’s one of the reasons why Jeannette’s passion is the community. She cares a great deal about people and decided to contribute even more of her time for a good cause.

“Everyone can make a difference. We can all make a difference.”

StandUp For Kids

In 2016, Jeannette started to work for StandUp For Kids Silicon Valley. SUFK is a nationwide non-profit organization that supports the homeless youth in the US. StandUp For Kids was founded in San Diego and has locations in 17 cities in 10 states.

There are about 2,500 homeless kids in the Santa Clara County. Many of them are visiting SUFK. All these kids, between the age of 12 and 24, are living alone and without parents or guardians for various reasons. Some were foster children, many were abused and some of them are even out of state.

“We serve unaccompanied homeless and at risk youth – and young parents with children of their own – up to their 25th birthday. Our ongoing mission is to end the cycle of youth homelessness. To do this, we have built four core programs in many of the cities where we operate in volunteer teams: Street Outreach, Outreach Centers, Mentoring, and Apartment Support.”

Outreach

StandUp For Kids started their outreach program in 2008. Volunteers go bi-weekly on the streets. They’re looking for a conversation with the kids, offer flyers, snack and toiletries bags as well as offering them to come to the “safe place” of the center.

Outreach Center

: Christmas dinner

Since 2013 StandUp For Kids Silicon Valley has its own outreach center which is located at 25 E Hedding St, San Jose (Hedding/1st Street). SUFK is renting a 3-bedroom house for the regular local rent. They call it “The Village”. When the kids come to the center, they have to sign in and sign an agreement with the rules of the center. They can receive their mail here, use the computers in the computer room and can pick a limited amount of clothes in the “clothing room”. They can take a shower, wash and dry their clothes and of course eat. StandUp For Kids offers special days like “hair day” or “mani/pedi day” for the girls as well as workshops. The kids collect stamps for their participation in order to get a small gift card.

The center is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5.30pm to 8.30pm and Saturdays from 12pm to 3pm.

Jeannette joined the leadership team in May 2017 and is now the director of Program Support. She is responsible for all the donations and that the center is always well-equipped to operate. And she also has become a mentor.

Mentoring

The volunteers working for StandUp For Kids are trying to mentor kids to set goals (off the street, finishing school, finding a job/apartment, saving up money, get a birth certificate etc.)

Please consider to give a donation or even some of your time for this wonderful program. StandUp For Kids are always in need of dry, non-perishable food (granola bars etc.), household items, as well as bigger items like backpacks, tents and most of all money. All donations are tax deductible.

There are lots of ways how to help. Here you can find their wishlist. If you have any questions, Jeannette is more than happy to answer them. You can send her an email to jeannette.weedermann@gmail.com .

The coffee place

Jeannette and I met at Yeganeh bakery & Kafé Unik on Stevens Creek Blvd. in San Jose. This café is famous for its persian breakfast plates. There’s outdoor seating and even though it’s on a busy street it’s nice to sit outside and enjoy some good Californian sunshine. The service and interior were really nice. They have small as well as big community tables and it seems like it is a popular place for work meetings.