Vikki Luna, the entrepreneurial leader of the Lighthouse Recovery Center, knows that when traditional nonprofit formats get together with entrepreneurial, commercial solutions, a stronger ministry emerges. The CCT celebrates this two-time winner of the CCT’s Spark Tank award for her Cornerstone Coffee Company and Light-WEAR Apparel for their mission to provide training for women in recovery. The Recovery Center offers hope, help, and healing to women who come out of addictions to drugs or alcohol. Most of these addictions start with self-medicating due to some kind of life trauma such as domestic violence and even sex trafficking. The Center’s goal is for women to build a relationship with Jesus Christ and then gain employment. Vikki negotiated with Cornerstone Church to take over their dormant coffee shop to use both as job training for the women in the program, and way to generate revenue for the ministry. They used their CCT Spark Tank award to purchase commercial equipment needed for the businesses. Vicky also began an apparel company with a second Spark Tank award, which enabled her to buy specialized equipment which makes custom clothing. Their clothing line is now being sold in three boutiques around Fresno, including New York Couture in Fig Garden. The CCT arranged additional small business training along with exposure and support from the CCT network, which is helping bring customers and others to support the work and mission.
The work environment is as healing for the women as the other services the lighthouse provides, such as drug/alcohol counseling and a trauma informed therapy. One graduate, Elsa, started at the coffee shop as a welfare to work participant, after her recovery from drugs/alcohol. She was later hired to help run the clothing line, Light-WEAR, and the coffee shop. With her new skills, she set up the online ordering system once COVID hit. Four years sober now, not only did she meet Jesus Christ, but she has gotten off public assistance and is thriving in her life and work. Elsa is one of many with similar experiencers at Cornerstone Coffee. God is making all things new, through the organizations that the CCT resources. For more info see lhrecovery.org and squareup.com/store/cornerstone-coffee.
