Dear Friends of Cafe 361,

With heavy hearts, the girls and volunteers of Cafe 361 at First Congregational Church are hanging up their aprons and putting down their spoons and ladles. The corona virus shortened what was planned as our final year. We had hoped to celebrate Cafe’s successes with you at a final dinner in April. It’s been seven years since this program began, the creation of Heather Woodin and girls from the Southside Boys and Girls Club. The program grew far beyond our dreams over those years, with your support and participation. Happily, Cafe met its goals of providing a fun and structured program for the girls on early dismissal days. Girls were taught life, leadership, and communication skills, and given volunteer opportunities in the greater Cedar Rapids community and beyond. We had a good run. We are so grateful to all who came to our dinners, gave generously in support, and joined with us watching the girls blossom over the years. We have a plan for our unspent donations. Cafe will award stipends to its current participants and make a donation to First Congregational Church, to assist in replacement of the broken dishwasher that served us so well all these years.