RIDGELAND, Miss. (Queen City Newsfeed) – A new chapter began Tuesday in Ridgeland, Mississippi as The Lily Pad, a non-profit café, held its official ribbon cutting ceremony.
The grand opening marks the beginning of something special in the community – a space not only to enjoy a meal but to support and empower individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“The Lily Pad is a non-profit café that provides training and internship opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We’ve been training our first group of interns since this summer, and today they’re able to showcase what they’ve learned,” said Kristin Lape, Executive Director of The Lily Pad.
The café’s mission is simple: create a supportive, hands-on environment where young adults with disabilities can gain valuable skills, while serving the community delicious meals. Interns work in every aspect of the café, from kitchen prep to stocking the bakery case, gaining real-world experience to prepare for future employment.
“On a day-to-day basis they are preparing to open a restaurant. They are prepping and cleaning and making sure we have all the needed supplies. They are making sure everything is clean. Our kitchen interns are prepping the food. They’re cutting any items that need to be prepped for the service. Other individuals are making sure our teas are made, our cookies are ready and stocked in the bakery cases,” said Lape.
Lape also said the name “Lily Pad” has a symbolic meaning.
“A lily pad is representative of how a frog travels from one lily pad to another. They leap from one lily pad so our goal is for these interns to leap from here with the skills they need and confidence they need to gain employment within the community,” said Lape.
The café is open for business! Customers can visit The Lily Pad from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and the first Saturday of each month. It’s an opportunity to enjoy delicious food, but also to support a cause that’s making a real difference.
“I hope that customers that come in can see the, you know, what these individuals are capable of. They are very capable, just like you and I, they just need that additional hands on training and that additional time to learn tasks, and it’s, you know, coming in and seeing what we are doing and then maybe a business owner comes in and sees how great these individuals are and wants to hire them in their restaurant because they see they are capable of holding these jobs. They just need a little additional attention in the beginning to get going,” said Lape.
The community is already responding with open arms. Volunteers, donations, and local support have been crucial in bringing The Lily Pad to life. But now, Kristin hopes people will come and see for themselves the positive impact this café is having on the lives of these young adults.
“My favorite part today was making the chocolate cream cheese,” said Keyon’dra, an intern at The Lily Pad.
“ I think I will remember all the stuff we have learned like how to cook, hygiene, communication…” said Keyon’dra.
“Right now we’re learning about following ingredients today,” said Payton, an intern at The Lily Pad.
“Oh I did bake my own cookies back at my house,” said Payton.
For more information on The Lily Pad’s menu and internship opportunities, visit their website at thelilypadms.com.
“I want to say Bless Ya’ll,” said Payton.
