Our History
At SPIN Café, we recognize everyone has needs. For some, it’s a meal, a place to rest out of the weather, or a resource for information about community services. For others, it’s a place to connect if you are lonely, new in town, or just passing through. Spin Café also recognizes those who have a need to volunteer, to give, to serve and to know they are contributing to the well-being of others. SPIN Café is a place for everyone to give and receive.
SPIN's founder, Vivian Rogers-Decker, is the Student Support Specialist and Homeless Liaison for the Oak Harbor School District. Throughout her tenure, Ms. Rogers-Decker has encountered students and their families facing every degree of homelessness, from sleeping on friends’ couches to living in campers, cars, tents, in the woods and on the beach. All too often, these families do not have access to basic amenities such as meals, showers, hygiene products, laundry services, or a safe place to ride out a rainy day.
SPIN Café was born of the idea that providing for these needs, in a welcoming and respectful environment, could improve a student’s overall health and welfare, leading to increased attendance, a more positive outlook, and, ultimately, academic success. Since opening our doors in 2012, SPIN Café has morphed into a multi-purpose agency, not only serving local students and their families, but also the Whidbey Island community as a whole.
Hundreds of volunteers, and dozens of local churches and community-minded organizations, have logged thousands of hours serving meals and companionship and dignity to our guests at SPiN Cafe. Six days a week during the current COVID-19 pandemic, guests come to us for vital nourishment they can eat at a safely distanced place. We look forward to a return to a secure and warm indoor location where guests can enjoy a cup of coffee and a place out of the weather.
Meals and referrals to community services have continued since SPiN’s founding, thanks to the efforts of a committed and caring crew of volunteers and staff.
SPIN’s guests include persons of all ages, races, ethnicities and genders. Many are transient, homeless, and without transportation or a source of income. SPIN Cafe estimates that we serve between 15-20 of Whidbey Island’s chronically homeless population on a daily basis. We also serve others who might have a place to stay, temporarily, but nowhere to call home; others are housed and working, yet unable to meet their own nutritional needs or those of their families. We are encountering more and more of the latter, especially at month’s end.
Spin serves an average of 25-30 guests at each meal. There is no qualifier for receiving SPIN services. We are open to all regardless of income, race, gender, faith, creed, sexual identity, or orientation.
In addition to our meal services, SPiN provides access to laundry services, housing referrals, and information on local services and shelter.
SPIN Café strives to operate as independently as possible, depending primarily on the talents and gifts of our guests, volunteers, and local community organizations to drive our program services and development. We firmly believe in the importance of collaborating with our fellow human service agencies and faith organizations to meet the diverse needs of our community while reducing the duplication of efforts. We collaborate with The Haven, Opportunity Council, CADA, the House of Hope, the Whidbey Homeless Coalition, Ryan's House for Youth, and Island County Human Services to provide coordinated entry to available local shelter programs, and we advocate for more affordable and emergency housing with our city council and county government.
SPIN's founder, Vivian Rogers-Decker, is the Student Support Specialist and Homeless Liaison for the Oak Harbor School District. Throughout her tenure, Ms. Rogers-Decker has encountered students and their families facing every degree of homelessness, from sleeping on friends’ couches to living in campers, cars, tents, in the woods and on the beach. All too often, these families do not have access to basic amenities such as meals, showers, hygiene products, laundry services, or a safe place to ride out a rainy day.
SPIN Café was born of the idea that providing for these needs, in a welcoming and respectful environment, could improve a student’s overall health and welfare, leading to increased attendance, a more positive outlook, and, ultimately, academic success. Since opening our doors in 2012, SPIN Café has morphed into a multi-purpose agency, not only serving local students and their families, but also the Whidbey Island community as a whole.
Hundreds of volunteers, and dozens of local churches and community-minded organizations, have logged thousands of hours serving meals and companionship and dignity to our guests at SPiN Cafe. Six days a week during the current COVID-19 pandemic, guests come to us for vital nourishment they can eat at a safely distanced place. We look forward to a return to a secure and warm indoor location where guests can enjoy a cup of coffee and a place out of the weather.
Meals and referrals to community services have continued since SPiN’s founding, thanks to the efforts of a committed and caring crew of volunteers and staff.
SPIN’s guests include persons of all ages, races, ethnicities and genders. Many are transient, homeless, and without transportation or a source of income. SPIN Cafe estimates that we serve between 15-20 of Whidbey Island’s chronically homeless population on a daily basis. We also serve others who might have a place to stay, temporarily, but nowhere to call home; others are housed and working, yet unable to meet their own nutritional needs or those of their families. We are encountering more and more of the latter, especially at month’s end.
Spin serves an average of 25-30 guests at each meal. There is no qualifier for receiving SPIN services. We are open to all regardless of income, race, gender, faith, creed, sexual identity, or orientation.
In addition to our meal services, SPiN provides access to laundry services, housing referrals, and information on local services and shelter.
SPIN Café strives to operate as independently as possible, depending primarily on the talents and gifts of our guests, volunteers, and local community organizations to drive our program services and development. We firmly believe in the importance of collaborating with our fellow human service agencies and faith organizations to meet the diverse needs of our community while reducing the duplication of efforts. We collaborate with The Haven, Opportunity Council, CADA, the House of Hope, the Whidbey Homeless Coalition, Ryan's House for Youth, and Island County Human Services to provide coordinated entry to available local shelter programs, and we advocate for more affordable and emergency housing with our city council and county government.