Dons Net Café: Teens Helping to Make a Better World

Jen Woo:

In a world filled with voracity, selfishness, and materialism, it is exceptionally moving to find people that are genuine and truly care about helping others. Dons Net Café is a student run social entrepreneurial business that defines themselves by being devoted to service-learning and Ethonomics (Ethical Economics). With a sound commitment and strong business in the community including Christie Communications, SCORE, ToastMasters, Cousteau, SB Chamber, and many more, these students at Santa Barbara High School have turned an ROP class into a national phenomenon.

Dons Net Café: Grand Opening Event

Dons Net Café’s mission is to educate and empower both its youth and community to create change that is valuable to society and the environment, while running a profitable, social entrepreneurial business. As an entirely self-sufficient and student run organization, all of Dons Net Café’s activities directly benefit the community, and as they say, they’re just “doin’ some good in the world.”

Dons Net Café Grand Opening Event: Singing Chicken

Dons Net Café is nationally recognized as the best and first high school website in the United States for tax preparation by the Los Angeles IRS. In addition, they help support an orphanage in Africa through their Do Ubuntu campaign, are official members of Roots and Shoots (Dr. Jane Goodall’s organization), and have a 91% scholarship rate. Their teacher and the founder of Dons Net Café, Lee Ben-Kinney, was recently named leader of the year by Roots and Shoots.

Dons Net Café Grand Opening Event

At their recent Grand Opening event, keynote speaker Ron Boehm describes social entrepreneurship as having a “can-do, believe it attitude” and states that this is what Dons Net Café is known for. He says, “Dons Net Café is so well connected in the community and with them we are learning the best practices to solve the world’s problems together.”

Dons Net Café is comprised of three sectors: food and beverage, customized products, and community service. With food and beverage as their main source of income and students (some from low income families) and staff as their main buyers (67% of their sales), they have implemented an average pricing system of twenty-five cents to a dollar in order to keep their products affordable. Dons Net Café also creates a variety of customizable products including mouse pads, mugs, t-shirts, and plaques that are guaranteed to maintain color for life. In addition, because of their 501(c) status, the purchase of their products is tax deductible.

Dons Net Café Grand Opening Event: Recycled Bags

Most widely recognized for their dedication to community service, Dons Net Café is currently involved in five initiatives including V.I.T.A, Roots and Shoots, Eco-Cell, Do Ubuntu, and CATALYST Ambassadors.

V.I.T.A. (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) is a free tax service provided by Dons Net Café to low-income individuals or families. Dons Net Café files tax returns for free in addition to paper filing for those who have or need ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Numbers). They are the first high school in the United States to be awarded an EFIN number by the IRS, allowing them to file to Ogden, Utah and directly to the IRS. Now in their 15th year, Dons Net Café files an average of 600 returns annually. Their website has been recognized as “the best practice model to be emulated for quality and utility” by the Los Angeles branch of the Internal Revenue Service and was acclaimed the best volunteer tax site in the entire nation this year. Through this program, Dons Net Café has saved the community $50,000 by preparing taxes for free, and students are given community service hours and guaranteed scholarships and job opportunities. Their goal is to promote financial literacy within the community.

Dons Net Café Grand Opening Event: Business Plan

Dons Net Café is currently in its third year of involvement with Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots program and has been personally endorsed by Jane herself. Roots and Shoots also sponsored their Cousteau Bins, a convenient and artistic way to encourage people to recycle. With Roots and Shoots, Dons Net Café is dedicated to helping humans, animals, and the environment.

Dons Net Café Grand Opening Event: Peace Dove

Eco-Cell is a program that allows recycling cell phones easy and convenient. As cell phones contain Coltan, a mineral that can only be found in the Congo, salvaging old phones will reduce the need to endanger animals by disturbing their natural habitats. Recycling phones also limits the amount of e-waste produced and sent to landfills and third world countries where it can contaminate drinking water. In the year 2000 alone, e-waste made up 4.6 million tons in our landfills. Call Dons Net Café to have them personally bring an Eco-Cell box to any location to collect phones to be reused.

Dons Net Café Grand Opening Event: Eco Cell

Do Ubuntu is a campaign that supports orphaned children (victims of AIDS and poverty) from the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Bracelets made by women crafters in Africa support seven to ten people. Profits from bracelet sales provide treatments for the children and their parents as well as help to provide school supplies, nutritional support, and safe and secure homes. For more information on Do Ubuntu visit http://dev.orphanbracelet.org/. Dons Net Café works to support sales of these bracelets and recently sent the children school supplies and toys.

Dons Net Café Grand Opening Event: Do Ubuntu Rap

Dons Net Café has two CATALYST (California Taking Action for Learning Through Youth Service Teams) Ambassadors, Kat Gray and Ana Aguilar. An ambassador serves as a leader for service learning and an initiator in creating a change. CATALYSTs meet at yearly retreats to discuss plans and reflect on service in education in order to change policy in order to make better schools in California. There are 16 CATALYSTs in the State of California.  For more information, visit www.yscal.org.

Dons Net Café Grand Opening Event: Raffle Basket from Christie Communications

Dons Net Café believes in “getting to gold by going green.” All of their ventures adhere to their commitment of being good for people and the planet and as Lee tells me, this is only the beginning. She says people “will have to see what teens can do when given the opportunity to change the world and themselves.” These teens are doing amazing things and will continue to do many more, and I personally am very eager to see what else this remarkable group of students will do to continue making the world a better place.

Dons Net Café Grand Opening Event

Dons Net Café Grand Opening Event: The Notorious Chicken Dance

For more information, visit www.donsnetcafe.com.

To view more of Jen’s photography, miscellaneous art, and current projects, check out her blog.