Reconnect / Vernon Avenue Project Inc

The Reconnect building maintenance training program provides hands-on, direct training on the job for our youth partners. The program has two elments: custodial/janitorial - Reconnect provides daily full-suite janitorial services to immaculate conception church, thomas berry place, and the passionist monastery 365 days a year. Building maintenance and repair - Reconnect provides maintenance and repair services including boiler maintenance, fire code compliance, electrical maintenance and gounds maintenance.

In 2021, responding to local requests after people began to experience the Reconnect organic garden, we began to construct raised beds and garden boxes from cedar and other hardwoods. We use galvanized, weatherproof hardware and fixtures, and provide customized color painted and stained finishes, as well as natural wood. Our boxes are built in our fully- supplied woodworking shop, and we train Reconnect youth partners to help us build the boxes as part of the enterprise. In partnership with hort, we fulfilled several larger orders in our first year, making 75 garden planters and planting beds. We plan to grow this enterprise through partnerships developed with other parishes in the diocese.

The Reconnect graphics and printing shop is a business that provides hands-on, direct on-the-job training for our youth partners. The graphics and printing shop offers full service, high quality printing services; we provide services to hundreds of businesses in the new york city region each year. Our print shop can print anything onto anything, but the mainstay of our business is printing garments such as tee shirts, sweat shirts, caps, and other accessories. We also make tote bage, customized mugs, and textiles for events (such as table cloths and banners). All of our youth partners spend time being trained in our graphics and printing shop.

The Reconnect cafe and apparel shop is a business that provides hands-on, direct on-the-job training for our youth partners. The Reconnect cafe, first opened in bedford stuyvesant in 2013, was reopened after covid in 2021 in its new location in thomas berry place in jamaica, queens. In our new cafe, we also sell apparels and accessories created in the Reconnect graphics shop, which is located on the same premises. Our cafe is a full- service coffee and beverage shop that offers a range of coffee brew options, all of which are made from our specialty-sourced Reconnect gourmet coffee beans. Expenses = 93,715. Food service for the parish monastery provided by Reconnect staff. Expenses = 53,314. General consulting and support services for thomas berry place retreat house. Expenses = 80,050.