When she was 13 years old, Jane Gow fled with her family to the United States during the fall of Saigon. That collapse marked the end of the Vietnam War.
Fifty years later, the former refugee is using her nonprofit shop, BeKinder Coffee, to help refugees and asylum-seekers build new lives in Dallas.
“Our work is 100% volunteer-driven,” Gow said. “Every dollar goes straight back into our operations to support the refugees we serve.
On Friday, as the coffee shop on Greenville Avenue celebrated its one-year anniversary, Gow talked about what the organization has done in the past year, and she announced expansion plans.
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The smell of coffee and snacks filled the room as people filed in to celebrate the community that Gow has built through her coffee shop.
From left, Des Mora, Linda Trinh, Audrey Gow, and M Kuvet, at BeKinder Coffee, the nonprofit coffee shop founded by first-generation American and former refugee Jane Gow, as they had their first year celebration in Dallas, Texas, Friday, August 22, 2025.
Anja Schlein / Special Contributor
“Refugees don’t just seek safety,” Gow said, while addressing the crowd during the event. “They bring resilience, skills and hope.”
Ahmed Hias, who came to the United States at the beginning of this year, started working at the coffee shop in March, he said. He is now a barista and team lead at BeKinder Coffee.
Hias, a 21-year-old refugee from Iraq, said Gow not only gave him a job but also helped him get settled.
“I still remember the second day she came up to me and she told me that I could be who I am here … and she hugged me,” he said.
Ahmed Hias makes crepes at BeKinder Coffee, the nonprofit coffee shop founded by first-generation American and former refugee Jane Gow, as they had their first year celebration in Dallas, Texas, Friday, August 22, 2025.
Anja Schlein / Special Contributor
Hias, whose dream job is to be a nurse like his mother, left his country because he felt he couldn’t live freely as a gay man, he said. Since moving to the U.S., he has been able to live his truth.
“I can just go out, whatever I wear, whatever I do, nobody stares at me,” Hias said.
Hias said he loves his job as a barista at Gow’s coffee shop and is now, with Gow’s help, taking steps toward his education.
Hias is among nine people Gow has helped.
Sima Tahaan, a 26-year-old refugee from Afghanistan, has worked at BeKinder Coffee for two months as a baker. Tahaan, who has been taking English language classes with the organization’s help, said she loves working with Gow.
“This is my home,” Tahaan said in a video compilation of employee testimonials that played at the event Friday.
Sima Tahaan at BeKinder Coffee, the nonprofit coffee shop founded by first-generation American and former refugee Jane Gow, as they had their first year celebration in Dallas, Texas, Friday, August 22, 2025.
Anja Schlein / Special Contributor
In fiscal year 2023, about 60,000 refugees arrived in the United States, and Texas topped the list of states with the highest number of arrivals, with about 5,000 people, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Afghanistan was third in the list of countries with the highest number of incoming refugees, while Iraq took the 10th position, the same report said. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Syria topped the list.
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, a refugee is someone who:
- Is of special humanitarian concern to the United States
- Can demonstrate that they were persecuted or are facing a fear of persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group
- Is not firmly resettled in another country
- Is admissible to the United States
BeKinder Coffee works in partnership with other organizations such as Catholic Charities and International Rescue Committee to provide employment opportunities to refugees and asylum-seekers, Gow said.
The organization is looking for warehouse space to expand its operations. She said her goal is to open a second location, likely in the same area as the current one.
“This means growing our team and hiring more people,” she said.
Chloe Harmon, who is a sophomore at Harvard University majoring in economics, worked as an intern at the shop during the summer through the Harvard Club of Dallas, which sponsors a few public service-based internships every summer, she said.
“Now, more than ever, is a time to support the refugee community,” she said.
In January, the Trump administration announced a realignment of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and declared the entry of refugees into the country “detrimental to the interests of the United States,” according to the White House website.
“I have a few employees that were afraid and they don’t feel safe to live in Texas, so they moved to the East Coast, where they can feel safer,” Gow said.
Harmon, who worked as a social media intern, said that people could learn from Gow’s drive to give back to the community.
Gow’s journey in the United States began in San Angelo, and then she moved with her family to Amarillo, where she attended high school before finally moving again to Dallas. She started at a community college before transferring to the University of Texas at Arlington.
She said she lived in many places in the country, including New Jersey, San Francisco and Austin, before finally moving back to Dallas.
Gow has made a specific effort to hire a lot of women in her coffee shop and provide them with opportunities to learn English and get an education. She noticed how several women from the community lacked a strong voice, she said.
She said she has witnessed transformation in the women she employs. When they start their journey, they are often afraid or sad about the uncertainty in their lives, but that changes as time goes on.
“After a while, you see them thrive,” Gow said. “They start laughing, they start teasing, they learn to know how to make things, and they excel at things.”
BeKinder Coffee, the nonprofit coffee shop founded by first-generation American and former refugee Jane Gow, had their first year celebration in Dallas, Texas, Friday, August 22, 2025.
Anja Schlein / Special Contributor
She said the idea of helping people through a coffee shop came partly from her love for coffee and partly from the idea of building a safe space for people to share their stories over a cup of coffee.
“What I want to create is a community where we can welcome everyone,” Gow said.