South Bay Nonprofit That Offers Job Training For Youth With Disabilities Awarded $10K

HAWTHORNE, CA — A South Bay nonprofit focused on offering job training for youth with disabilities has been awarded a $10,000 grant, the Jacques Pépin Foundation announced Thursday.

Mychal’s Learning Place, headquartered in Hawthorne, is one of 20 of the Jacques Pépin Foundation’s winter 2026 grant awardees.

“We are delighted to support Mychal’s Learning Place to provide transformative support, training, and job-skill opportunities,” Rollie Wesen, the foundation’s executive director, said in a written statement. “Mychal’s hands-on approach to culinary training reflects our shared belief that access to real-world experiences and community support can open doors, expand potential, and empower individuals to live fulfilling, self-sufficient lives.”

The Jacques Pépin Foundation, founded by the Pépin family in 2016, aims to “strengthen communities through the power of culinary education,” according to the foundation.

Since the foundation began offering grants seven years ago, it has awarded nearly “$2 million to 98 different nonprofit, community-based, culinary arts training programs that offer life skills and culinary training to individuals with barriers to employment,” the foundation said.

Mychal's Learning Place aims “to empower our students with developmental disabilities and work to provide job training and employment opportunities for them so they can live an independent life,” Jillian Zalys, the nonprofit’s development and special events manager, told Patch in a December interview.

The nonprofit has two social enterprises, where students receive job training and employment opportunities, including a cafe, according to Zalys.

“Mychal’s Learning Place provides hands-on training in food prep, baking and customer service for youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” the foundation said.

Students work in Mychal’s Café & Bakery on Artesia Boulevard in Redondo Beach, “which prepares them to transition into employment with confidence,” according to the foundation.

The nonprofit will use the grant money toward the program, including to cover costs for “instructor time, training supplies, food, tools and equipment, and the addition of digital and video-based learning resources to enhance the curriculum,” the foundation said.

In addition to the grant, the nonprofit will also receive JPF-branded aprons for its students and a group membership to the Foundation.

"Through our Culinary Training Program and Vocational Training at Mychal's Café & Bakery, individuals with developmental disabilities have the opportunity to be a part of a team in the kitchen and create delicious meals that serve a greater purpose,” Ed Lynch, the nonprofit’s founder and CEO, said in a written statement. “Thanks to the Jacques Pépin Foundation, we will be able to continue to create more opportunities for young people with developmental disabilities to learn incredibly valuable culinary and hospitality skills, helping them to become contributing members of their community through meals served with a mission.”