Nearly two years ago, the Nesbitt Centre came up with an idea. It would build a coffee shop so that its students - adults with physical and learning disabilities - could better their lives and earn a real wage.
To realise that dream, the non-profit group asked some big favours - and was rewarded with some remarkable goodwill.
The group asked the Uncle Russ coffee chain to help them. The company accepted. The group asked a local designer to create a stand-alone shop. The designer welcomed the opportunity.
The group even asked St John's Cathedral for space on its property. And after giving the plan careful consideration, the church approved. The Nesbitt Centre's coffee shop, pending government approval, is scheduled to open on the grounds of St John's Cathedral in the spring.
'If it's a heart-felt idea and you're trying to empower the people that you're working with, go and ask,' said Surinder Punjya, the executive director of the Nesbitt Centre. 'Go and do it, talk to people, get involved.'
Money raised by this year's Operation Santa Claus will allow the Nesbitt Centre buy equipment for the upcoming shop.
The 300 to 400 sq ft shop will be modern in design, with wood flooring and ambient light. The small interior would feel both warm and welcoming, said Rick Hon, executive director of Henmax Group, the design company looking after the project.
'What I really want to create is a corner for people that is warm and inviting, a place for people to buy a cup of coffee and to enjoy,' said Hon, who is providing services free of charge.
Shifts of trained Nesbitt Centre workers will serve coffee drinks and snacks daily while overseen by an Uncle Russ staffer, who will be on site during the beginning of the operation.
'It's going to be run professionally,' Punjya said.
'We want people to come to the coffee shop not because people have learning disabilities, but because the people who are doing it are doing a good job and providing a good service with a human touch.'
Punjya said his students, who have mild to moderate forms of learning disabilities such as autism and Down's syndrome, were up to the task.
'In terms of ability, they can do the job just as well as any other person once they have the training. Our students need a little bit more support in being able to achieve a task, but once that support is provided, then you do empower them.'
The shop will sell Uncle Russ coffee, but it will operate under a different name and offer a daily 'Dean's brew' in honour of the church.
Duncan Cave, the chief operating officer of the Hong Kong-based Uncle Russ coffee chain, said his company had occasionally been approached for donations, but was never asked to participate by a community group until Punjya called.
'I think a lot of businesses like to get involved in things, but don't know how,' said Cave, whose company has six shops in Hong Kong.
'We were lucky because we were approached and it's something we could do.
The Reverend Andrew Chan of St John's Cathedral also said it was the first time a group had asked his church to help in such a way.
'I think it's a good attempt for an NGO, the church and even some enterprises to work together and provide a community service,' Chan said. 'We always need to have dreams, otherwise we cannot get progress. We hope this dream comes true.'
If you have a dream, sometimes all you have to do is ask.
It may not always be so simple, but the Nesbitt Centre did just that and, by doing so, it's on its way to realising its dream.
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