Where Long Beach
students get their start.

First Course is a 36-hour hospitality training for high school students, taught inside Wrigley Coffee, a working café. Students build the skills every job needs: communication, teamwork, workplace etiquette and money basics. Students who meet the standard earn a Hospitality Certificate.

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I’m here as an employer, donor or neighbor.

Fall cohort · Oct 13 to Nov 5, 2026

Students build the skills every job needs: communication, teamwork, workplace etiquette and money basics. Students who meet the standard earn a Hospitality Certificate.

What we do

We teach Long Beach high school students how to work in hospitality, from behind a real counter.

Ten students from Browning High School spend four weeks at Wrigley Coffee, every Tuesday and Thursday after school. They learn to communicate, work as a team, carry themselves at work and handle money. Then they practice it all at the espresso machine, at the register and with real guests, with one-on-one coaching along the way.

See the four weeks

Why we exist

“We provide job training in a supportive work environment where young people build the skills and confidence to succeed in meaningful careers.”

That is the Wrigley Coffee mission. The café opened in 2022 with job training at its core. First Course carries it to high school students.

Our story and our team

The impact so far

Every number, and how we measure

12 of 12
finished our spring 2026 pilot
Browning High School students
5
adult graduates of Wrigley Coffee’s first year of job training, hired full time
2022 to 2023, before First Course began
3
young people hired at Wrigley Coffee
After Wrigley Coffee’s job training, since 2024

Help build the next cohort.

Employers host interns and hire grads. Donors pay for dinner, coaching and the Showcase.

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What brings you here?

Pick your door. Each one goes straight to what you need, and to the right form.

The café is the classroom.

Every session happens at Wrigley Coffee, 437 W Willow St in Long Beach.

The Wrigley Coffee counter with pendant lights and the red Wrigley Coffee sign — The counter.

A Wrigley Coffee team member makes a drink at the espresso machine, wearing a shirt that reads But first, Community — Making a drink at the counter: the Wrigley Coffee team.

A latte in a ceramic cup on a black marble counter — A latte, ready to serve.

A Wrigley Coffee team member at the coffee station, wearing a sweatshirt that reads But first, Community — The Wrigley Coffee team at the coffee station.

A wall of live plants beside dark wood slats at Wrigley Coffee — The plant wall.

A latte on a wood stump table beside a leather chair and ferns — A latte by the ferns.

Stools along the window counter under hanging plants at Wrigley Coffee — Seats by the window.

A leather couch under a wall mural that reads But first, Community — But first, Community. The lounge.

Who stands behind First Course

How we all fit together

Our classroom
Wrigley Coffee
Every session is taught inside this Long Beach café.
Our parent nonprofit
Forward Endeavors
The 501(c)(3) that runs Wrigley Coffee and First Course.
Our school partner
Browning High School
Every First Course student so far has come from Browning.
Our district partner
Long Beach Unified School District
Browning is a Long Beach Unified school.