An evening on the prairie with coffee

Later this month, Coffee Connection will host a fundraiser featuring a night of entertainment by humorist and long-time radio personality Garrison Keillor.

Joy Bergfalk, executive director of Coffee Connection, a nonprofit, says many board members were shocked and partly in disbelief when she announced the guest. However, after first contacting Keillor in 1995, Bergfalk says her ongoing friendship with him led to this event.

“Some board members didn’t believe me at first. They said ‘How’d you pull this off?’” chuckles Bergfalk who grew up in a Minnesota town 40 minutes from Keillor’s hometown. “It’s very exciting. He’s doing it as a benefit, free of charge because he’s inspired by the work that we do.”

All proceeds from “An Evening on the Prairie with Garrison Keillor” will go toward Coffee Connection’s work. The coffee roaster and seller helps women suffering from addiction by providing sober support, workforce development, and employment opportunities.

Coffee Connection’s locations at South Avenue and Marketplace Mall feature its roasts from fair trade Peruvian coffee beans. Even that decision was made to reduce the harm of addictive substances as farmers can grow non-drug crops for a sustainable income.

The trauma-informed approach at Coffee Connections has had great success, with hundreds of women moving through the system. Currently, roughly 12 women participate in the program.

Bergfalk credits the support offered by employees who understand the struggle and believes the ability to be honest about it helps make the program successful.

“It’s a nonprofit, but it’s also a business, and it offers women, who otherwise would not have one, a stable path back to society,” Alyssa Eisele says. “It’s very empowering and when we’re successful, we cycle through women quickly.”

Eisele will soon be taking over the executive director position from Bergfalk, who has led the organization since 2011.

A recent transplant to the area, Eisele originally planned to volunteer at the cafe as an avenue for her charcuterie business. She found herself moved by Coffee Connection’s work based on personal experiences with loved ones who suffer from addiction.

“The women are just salt of the earth. They deserve so much more than has been given to them,” Eisele remarks, highlighting their determination and grit.

As a lifelong volunteer (once stepping into a basketball coach role for her child’s team while knowing nothing about basketball), Eisele was still surprised at the job opportunity for executive director and credits the people around her for Coffee Connection’s success.

“Stacey and I work together and I would call her my right-hand person but really, I would be nothing without her, she knows everything I couldn’t possibly know,” Eisele says. “It’s tremendous how she has worked so hard to help others for so long.”

Stacey Pum has worked at the organization for 11 years. She first went through the program herself and now is committed to helping others forge a better future.

Bergfalk recognizes another woman named Genia. Suffering from homelessness and addiction, she began as an intern at the store based on recommendations from the employees themselves.

After two years at Coffee Connection, Genia now has an apartment and a car, a job at Marketplace Mall, can live with her son, and recently could afford dentures after losing her teeth.

“She just can’t believe the difference. This year feels so much different from the past year because the healing takes forever. It takes years,” Bergfalk says.

Coffee Connection has seen its share of suffering, however, with some women relapsing, becoming reincarcerated, or dying after they end their time in the program.

“Addiction is like a stalker,” describes Bergfalk. “It just follows you around and waits for you to have a weak moment and then it pounces. Very few people get off and stay off drugs and alcohol without a relapse. And oftentimes, relapses are even a part of the process.”

“But as I like to say, we don’t kick people to the curb,” she continues. “We kick them to the sidewalk and drag them back by their hair.”

Next for Coffee Connection is a consolidation to one location, a process that Eisele says will occur next month. She also says that the organization will look to hold events more frequently in the future.

For now, the nonprofit is seeking funds to continue operations, with help from the upcoming fundraiser. Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the event and will go a long way toward their work, Bergfalk says.

“An Evening on the Prairie with Garrison Keilor” will be held on Sunday, March 30 at the Hochstein School. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.

Jacob Schermerhorn is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and data journalist. 

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