Our Story

Guild member pulls a weed in the garden

Who We Are

Dragonfly Café was founded in 2021 by Raphael Village, a New Orleans-based organization supporting differently-abled people in becoming fully engaged in life and community.

Located in the Raphael Village Town Center, Dragonfly Café is our newest social enterprise that supports our vision of creating an urban lifesharing community for individuals with exceptionalities throughout the Greater New Orleans area.

Dragonfly Café provides vocational internships for members of The Guild, our adult day program that provides vocational and post-secondary educational opportunities to differently-abled adults. The dragonfly is a symbol of self-realization, self-transformation, and remaining hopeful in difficult situations. Guild members interning at Dragonfly Café learn vocational skills that can lead to fulfilling work in the food and service industries, both in the front and back of house.

Peach

The Guild’s Mission

The Guild’s mission is to meet our members with reverence and compassion for who they are and to support their unique unfolding by providing community, individual paths to employment, and vocational and artist-guild training.

Eggs

About the Town Center

Located at 530 Jackson Avenue, the Raphael Village Town Center—the hub of our life-sharing community—serves as the home of Dragonfly Café. Along with Dragonfly Café and Catering, the Town Center is home to The Guild’s pre-employment and vocational training day program and includes academic classrooms, artist-guild studios, and Raphael Village’s administrative offices. The surrounding grounds serve as the site for our edible landscape curriculum, and will help provide herbs and vegetables for Dragonfly Café.

Support Our Work

Through our amazing community of donors and volunteers, Raphael Village is able to fulfill its mission and vision of building a lifesharing community for differently-abled individuals. If you’re interested in getting involved with our work, consider becoming a volunteer or donor today.