Our Mission

During a normal school year, it was always challenging to find meaningful vocational placements for our high schoolers with special needs who attend New Horizons Academy. We knew our students were capable of doing so much more than they were being given the opportunity to do.

Well, 2020 was anything but normal. With higher unemployment rates in Northwest Ohio and so many public health restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, vocational placements were more challenging than ever.

We set out to create our own career center with in-house vocational training and employment opportunities for our students. The most exciting aspect of this facility was the creation of a fully functional coffee shop, kitchen and roastery, Special Grounds Coffee Co., staffed by many of our special needs high school students.

Our coffee shop provides customers with a warm and inviting environment to come and enjoy coffee with their friends and family. It also features a drive-up window for those wanting coffee on the go.

We are making all of the delicious sandwiches, salads and pastries in-house in our commercial kitchen.

We are also roasting, packaging and selling our delicious coffees right here at Special Grounds in our very own roastery to individuals, businesses and wholesale accounts across the country.

Our newest endeavor is a coffee truck. This mobile vocational center will expand our current capability out into Northwest Ohio to reach additional special needs students, specifically the students at our Springfield campus and partner schools. It will allow us to further educate the surrounding communities about the vocational needs of young adults with disabilities and promote the awareness that every community can and should support all of its students and community members. 

In addition to providing much needed vocation experience to individuals with disabilities, profits from Special Grounds Coffee Co. are invested back into mission organizations, both locally and in the countries where our coffee was grown.