CHULA VISTACHULA VISTA — The owner of a compact Chula Vista coffee shop wants to aid underprivileged children and teens by offering them scholarships or even tickets to Disneyland, just as she believes her daughter, who died 15 years ago, would have wanted.
In March, Carmen Saucedo, 76, opened Pau’s Place Coffee and More on Third Avenue in memory of her daughter, Paulina Baeza, who once worked as a barista when they both lived in Irvine. A grand opening is scheduled for May 8.
Baeza, Saucedo’s only daughter, died in August 2005 at the age of 20 from a head injury. while in custody police officers in Ensenada.
Saucedo said that in the wake of the tragedy, she looked for ways to honor her daughter’s memory by giving back to the community.
“When I was looking for a deeper meaning to her death, I decided that’s what I was going to do,” Saucedo recalls.
Before the pandemic forced amusement parks to close, Saucedo handed out tickets to its first group of children.
Having worked in the cosmetics industry for over 50 years, she knows mothers who have never had the opportunity to take their children to the park.
But COVID restrictions put a halt to those plans. Since then, she’s been looking for a way to move from word-of-mouth marketing to a more formal and organized approach to getting her kids to Disneyland once conditions allow again.
Earlier this year, she decided to open a café to raise funds for the foundation bearing Paulina’s name.
With the outdoor coffee stand, Saucedo also hopes to provide part-time work for newborn people who need aid paying for college. Profits will also go toward providing college scholarships for those in need, she said.
“We’re not just here to serve good coffee and empanadas, but we’re also here to serve the community,” Saucedo said. “My husband and I have nothing else to do. We’re both retired, and our only goal is to bring joy to children and newborn people.”
People who need aid paying for tuition, books or other school expenses can apply to the foundation, and a committee will select the recipients, Saucedo said. The same goes for children from low-income families who have never been to Disneyland.
The cafe is located at 225 Third Avenue.
Originally published:
