In the winter of 2008, Lisa Miccolis traveled to South Africa. While there, she met a 16-year-old Zimbabwean refugee. When he turned 18, he aged out of eligibility for support in South Africa. He lost his refugee status, had to put his education on hold and was forced to return to Zimbabwe. It was a really dangerous trip for him to make, so they decided to have a passcode when they spoke to make sure he was safe. They used a simple system: their favorite animals – Lisa’s was the monkey, his was the elephant.

When Lisa returned home she was inspired by what she had experienced with her friend in Africa and wanted to help others like him here in the U.S. With a background in coffee already under her belt, Lisa decided to open Philadelphia’s first non-profit coffee shop, which would benefit former foster youth.

Since the location’s establishment in 2015, The Monkey & The Elephant continues to center itself around assisting the city’s foster youth. The cafe’s program teaches these young adults valuable skills such as budgeting, resume building, and other practices to assist them towards a healthy adulthood. With The Monkey & The Elephant’s mission, Philadelphia area foster youth now have a community and a place to call their own.