Cover Stories

Story by: Carolyn Heinze
STORYTELLING LIES AT THE HEART OF A CALIFORNIA CHURCH-BASED COFFEEHOUSE DESIGNED WITH A CAUSE
WE ALL HAVE “A-HA!” MOMENTS WHEN IT BECOMES CLEAR HOW WE’RE GOING TO OVERCOME WHAT SOMETIMES SEEM LIKE IMPOSSIBLE CHALLENGES. FOR BLAKE RYAN, EVERYTHING BECAME CLEAR DURING A VISIT TO A COFFEE ROASTING FACILITY.
As volunteer director of the Corona Norco Rescue Mission in Corona, Calif., Ryan’s challenge was to help the homeless in a meaningful way. As principal at PlainJoe Studios, a design firm also based in Corona, his aim was to build a facility that would serve as the vehicle through which the program’s homeless —“students” in the rescue mission’s language—would gain the tools to rediscover their value, and reintegrate into society.
Read the full story here.