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Haley House, a nonprofit organization in Boston's South End, has undertaken a new initiative in cooperation with Boston College students. Their product, the BC Cookie, has just arrived in dining halls across campus through the combined efforts of BC students, dining administrators, and Haley House. A portion of the sale from each package of cookies goes directly to funding Haley House programs.
Haley House was founded in 1966 and has worked closely with BC since its beginning. Haley House was named for Leo Haley, a BC alumnus. "We've been associated with BC since we began," said Kathe McKenna, executive director of Haley House.
"For 40 years we have done direct service," McKenna said. "We have had a soup kitchen and housing for people of very limited means." Haley House programs also include the Haley House Bakery Training Program, which employs people who might otherwise not be able to find employment, and What's Up, an arts magazine that also provides employment opportunities.
"About 10 years ago we took a very different direction when some men who were guests at the soup kitchen became more involved in running the kitchen," McKenna said. The bakery training program began to develop with these men. "As that program was developing, part of the development was with BC students in the soup kitchen … and that spilled over into the bakery training program." McKenna said that these processes of learning and co-working are integral to the mission of Haley House. BC often places students at Haley House through 4Boston or PULSE, and there are other students who come to the organization on their own. The relationships that come through working together can have a great effect on both the volunteers and the guests at Haley House. "Here were the men that the BC students were coming down to serve … There was this role reversal," McKenna said.
Matthew Hamilton, A&S '09, has worked closely with Haley House while at BC. "I was an intern there the summer after freshman year through the Presidential Scholars Program." Hamilton said that he spent some time working at the bakery, but spent most of his time in the soup kitchen. He also worked closely with McKenna. Hamilton maintained his relationship with Haley House when he worked as a 4Boston council coordinator last year.
It was this close relationship that led to the idea for the BC Cookie. Hamilton said that the original idea was for Haley House to run a satellite cafe on the BC campus. "I knew Haley House really needed a lot of money … they were consistently in the red up until November of this year." Hamilton devised the idea for a product that Haley House could make using their current facilities that would provide a sustainable source of income for Haley House programs.
Dean Richard Keeley, director of programs for the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics, has been closely involved with Haley House since the 1970s. Hamilton said that it is long-term relationships such as this that make the partnership between BC and Haley House unique. Hamilton found enthusiastic support for his proposal with Helen Weschler and Michael Kann from BC Dining Services, as well as from Bing Broderick, baking director of the Haley House, and McKenna.
Hamilton stressed that the BC Cookie does not represent a new partnership between BC and the Haley House, but rather a continuation of the relationship between the organization and the University. The initial launch of the cookie was slated for September of last year, but was delayed by issues with packaging and other details. "Haley House has never made a product before to distribute outside of their restaurant," Hamilton said. He said the production of the cookie is "all done on site in Roxbury with their employees."
Hamilton said that the production of the cookie aims to be a model for sustainable production. "The cookies will soon be delivered in a truck that runs on cookie oil," he said.
In October, Carroll School of management honors students became involved in the marketing of the cookies, as well as an effort to streamline Haley House's finances and management. "CSOM honors has been integral to the marketing of the BC Cookie," Hamilton said. CSOM professors Tina Zamora and Amy LaCombe used their relationship with Haley House as a case study in managerial accounting classes, and presented their finalized projects to the Haley House accounting director. Hamilton said that it was only through the efforts of a number of BC students and organizations that the BC Cookie came to be. He said that Michael Cotter, A&S '08, was very influential in completing the project, and that the Office of University Mission and Ministry helped to bridge the gap between Haley House and BC.
"For now, it's just the chocolate chip cookie," Hamilton said. "A long-term goal would be to have Haley House as an expanded dining relationship."
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