Griffin Henry is 17, runs a coffee stand at a historic Evanston lakefront mansion and now wants your old trumpet.

Henry, a Wilmette resident who manages Harley Clarke Coffee Co. at Harley Clarke Mansion, is organizing Java & Jams, a two-day musical instrument drive on Saturday, Oct. 10, and Sunday, Oct. 11. The event runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days at 2603 Sheridan Road.

Community members can drop off gently used instruments while grabbing coffee at the seasonal stand, which opened this summer on the mansion grounds overlooking Lake Michigan. All collected instruments will go to Hungry for Music, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that distributes them to children who lack access.

The drive is personal for Henry. A musician and coffee enthusiast, he has supported Hungry for Music in the past, according to the event announcement. Java & Jams is billed as the first in a series of community-focused efforts planned by Harley Clarke Coffee Co.

Founded by Jeff Campbell in 1994, Hungry for Music has placed more than 27,000 instruments in children's hands across 50 states and 35 countries. The organization's mission centers on serving children who want to learn music and teachers with willing students. It distributed 3,116 instruments in 2025 alone.

The coffee stand sits on grounds with a long history. Utilities magnate Harley Clarke hired Boston architect Richard Powers to design the three-story French Eclectic mansion in 1928. It was the last grand residence built on Chicago's North Shore before the stock market crash of 1929, according to a city planning document. Evanston purchased the property in 1965 to expand lakefront parkland, and the building sat vacant for years.

New life is coming. The Evanston City Council approved a 40-year lease with Celadon Construction Corporation NFP in March 2025. Celadon's roughly $30 million renovation plan received Preservation Commission approval on Sept. 8, Evanston Now reported. The project would convert the landmark into an event venue with a restaurant, bourbon shop, ice cream parlor and basement speakeasy bar. It still needs a major variation request and unique use permit from the Land Use Commission and City Council.

A FOX 32 Chicago segment on Sept. 15 highlighted the mansion's summer programming, including live music and a beer garden alongside the coffee stand. Henry's instrument drive adds a philanthropic layer to that growing calendar of activity at the property.