Anyone who is seriously into chocolate knows that a place that’s making things like orange cardamom and Mexican hot chocolate truffles with free trade and organic ingredients is putting more than a lot of love into those tiny bites of decadence.
Counselor-turned-chocolatier Dale Anderson is also putting his convictions into them.
Anderson, who has worked with juveniles in the court system, founded Chocolates With Convictions in Kalamazoo as a way for at-risk youth to build job skills and work ethics as a way to prevent them from reentering a life of crime and unemployability as adults.
“One of the challenges kids were facing were not going to be solved by pushing them through the system and turning them loose,” Anderson says. “I wanted to offer employment, job training and to make sure there’s some sort of support for these kids.”
Anderson employs four youths in his shop and nine are putting in community service time. They make chocolates in the kitchen and work the retail end of his small shop and at farmers markets. In addition to learning job skills, he also offers something that many of these kids lack in their home, school and community environment – an adult who can offer encouragement and trust to succeed in school and future job training.
Aside from the small shop with a big mission turning out 18 different kinds of caramels and 40 different kinds of truffles, Anderson has helped to see his staff accomplish other successes.
“One of my employees has completed her GED and is applying to college,” Anderson says. “Another has passed three of his five GED tests and I’m bringing in a tutor for him. Two other kids have plans to go into culinary school or the food service industry.”
If you’re going to give a gift of love for someone this Valentine’s Day, you might as well give a gift to the community, too.
Confections With Convictions is located at 116 W. Crosstown Parkway in Kalamazoo.
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