Media Credit: Patrick Fouhy Mike Cotter, A&S '08, spends his Wednesday night in Roxbury's Haley House Bakery Cafe baking cookies, now to be sold in dining halls at BC.

Haley House, a nonprofit organization in Boston's South End, has undertaken a new initiative in cooperation with Boston College students. Their product, the BC Cookie, has just arrived in dining halls across campus through the combined efforts of BC students, dining administrators, and Haley House. A portion of the sale from each package of cookies goes directly to funding Haley House programs.

Haley House was founded in 1966 and has worked closely with BC since its beginning. Haley House was named for Leo Haley, a BC alumnus. "We've been associated with BC since we began," said Kathe McKenna, executive director of Haley House.

"For 40 years we have done direct service," McKenna said. "We have had a soup kitchen and housing for people of very limited means." Haley House programs also include the Haley House Bakery Training Program, which employs people who might otherwise not be able to find employment, and What's Up, an arts magazine that also provides employment opportunities.

"About 10 years ago we took a very different direction when some men who were guests at the soup kitchen became more involved in running the kitchen," McKenna said. The bakery training program began to develop with these men. "As that program was developing, part of the development was with BC students in the soup kitchen … and that spilled over into the bakery training program." McKenna said that these processes of learning and co-working are integral to the mission of Haley House. BC often places students at Haley House through 4Boston or PULSE, and there are other students who come to the organization on their own. The relationships that come through working together can have a great effect on both the volunteers and the guests at Haley House. "Here were the men that the BC students were coming down to serve … There was this role reversal," McKenna said.

Matthew Hamilton, A&S '09, has worked closely with Haley House while at BC. "I was an intern there the summer after freshman year through the Presidential Scholars Program." Hamilton said that he spent some time working at the bakery, but spent most of his time in the soup kitchen. He also worked closely with McKenna. Hamilton maintained his relationship with Haley House when he worked as a 4Boston council coordinator last year.

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