For the past six years, Ethical Bean Coffee has been donating $1 from every bag of coffee sold in the month of December to Child-Aid’s FUNDIT program in El Tejar, Guatemala. The program helps kids who would otherwise have been unable to attend school because of the prohibitive cost of school supplies, books and uniforms. The FUNDIT program has been one of the most effective ways of getting some of Guatemala’s poorest children through school.
In those six years we are proud to have helped 545 children receive an education and some to go on to excel in their secondary and post-secondary education.
Randy, Maricella and Monica.
Roxanna
In her third year of school at the University of San Carlos, she is learning to become a teacher in language and literature. Roxanna went through middle school with a FUNDIT scholarship and now pays for her education by working as a teaching assistant during the day at a Child-Aid funded Montessori preschool.
Monica
In her second year of study at Rafael Landivar University, Monica is also planning to be a teacher when she graduates. Monica’s father died when she was seven, and without her FUNDIT scholarship, going to school would have been impossible.
Estefany
Also a former FUNDIT scholarship student, Estefany recently completed her diversificado (high school) studies in music education and is currently studying the violin and cello at a conservatory. She covers part of her university fees by working as a teaching assistant in the Child-Aid music program.
Maricella
Maricella completed her diversificado at Pedro Molina School and is now teaching pre-school while studying language and literature at University.
Randy
Randy is about to graduate from a vocational school where he is studying tourism. Randy received scholarships through Child-Aid and became a volunteer in the El Tejar library, where he spends hours reading during his free time. Like all of the kids mentioned here, he comes from an extremely poor family – without scholarships, school would not have been an option.
The Kids to School Child-Aid scholarships represent an opportunity that few children in Guatemala ever get. We’re able to help these children because of the support you give to us in buying our coffee. Thank you.
Welcome to the first Free Coffee Friday hosted on our blog! Thanks for stopping by! Leave a comment below and we’ll do a random draw at the end of the day Friday for a 1lb bag of fresh roasted coffee.
UPDATE: Congrats to Lark for winning this week’s Free Coffee Friday!
Some things were meant to go together. Like bread and butter, coffee and cream, and Ethical Bean and Thrifty Foods. Starting this Valentine’s Day, you can play cupid by helping us to woo Thriftys to get Ethical Bean coffee on their shelves. Just think of it: our Fair Trade Certified, organic coffee in your very own neighbourhood Thrifty Foods. It’s a match made in heaven!
Here’s how:
1. Fill out a comment card at your local Thrifty Foods asking for Ethical Bean coffee. You can check for locations here.
2. Take a photo of yourself outside of the Thriftys.
We’re thrilled to announce that this year’s total fundraising for the company’s Kids to School program has clocked in at an impressive $32,000. A significant increase from the 2009 record of $21,949, the funds raised will be split between two organizations that will help to improve the lives of Guatemalan children.
I began buying e-bean coffee when the Vancouver Folk Music Festival blend became available. Ethical Bean’s involvement in these great causes – like Project SOMOS and the VFMF – make it easy to decide which coffee to buy. I get yummy coffee and I like knowing that my purchase helps good causes like justice and the arts.
- Gail, Vancouver
Not-for-profit organization Child Aid is committed to battling the staggering illiteracy rate and lack of educational opportunities for the country’s youth. Thanks to Ethical Bean’s generous donation, 100 Guatemalan children will be given the opportunity to attend school for the first time. From the inception of Kids to School in December of 2003, Ethical Bean has placed a total of 545 children into classrooms.
Project Somos will also receive a generous post-holiday gift from Ethical Bean. The Vancouver based charity is establishing a village in Guatemala for abandoned and orphaned children.This Village will be a safe and loving environment for the children to thrive and grow up in. There will be homes with Guatemalan foster mothers each raising a household of children. Education, leadership and arts will be integral to the Children’s Village. Thanks to the success of the Kids to School program, Ethical Bean will be contributing over $21,000 to help fund this ambitious and important project.
Our resident photographer and Q-Grader, Aaron de Lazzer shot these beautiful images at our belated Ten Pin Bowling Christmas party last Friday night at Revs in Burnaby.
Tweet & Win a Krups Coffee Machine and 2lbs of Ethical Bean Coffee
In order to get the word out about the wonderful work Project Somos is doing, we’ve set up a tweet & win promotion.
The goal of Project Somos is to create a village which provides a secure home, a loving family and a hopeful future to Guatemalan children in need. To build a village that will be ecologically and financially sustainable. The long term goal is to replicate this initial village in other locations where children are in need. If you want more info on Project Somos Gift Certificates, then please check out their site. We’re hoping you can spread the word and support this fantastic charity.
How to enter
• Follow @projectsomos on Twitter during the contest.
• To win the Krups 12 cup coffee machine and 2lbs of Ethical Bean Coffee Rocket Fuel, tweet or re-tweet a message containing #projectsomos. You can tweet as much as you like because every message #projectsomos message counts.
• We’ll pick a random winner from all the #projectsomos tweets sent between January 8th and January 14th, 2010.
Some example tweets under 140 characters (that you’re welcome to copy and paste)
RETWEET+WIN a coffee maker package! http://ow.ly/UlOH Find out more about #projectsomos Building a future for kids.
RETWEET+WIN http://ow.ly/UlOH Find out how you can help #projectsomos Children’s Village and build a better future for kids.
RETWEET+WIN a Krups coffee maker http://ow.ly/UlOH Help #projectsomos Children’s Village and build a better future for kids.
We’ll tweet out the winner on Friday, January 15th, 2010. Good luck!
“We collected thousands of new unwrapped toys, thousands of pounds in non-perishable food items, tons of cash donations, and donations are still pouring in!” – The Beat
Emily with Santa at the Beat Cares Food Drive in 2007. The first year we started participating in The Beat Cares Food Drive.
Last week on December 10th, truckloads of toys, food and money were donated to help those who struggle during the holidays. This year was the 3rd year that Ethical Bean served up hot coffee in the afternoon for volunteers and visitors at The Beat Cares on Expo Blvd in front of the Downtown Vancouver Costco.
A never-ending parade of cars and trucks pulled up with these toys for the kids.
Volunteers helped carry food, toys and took monetary contributions from 6am – 11pm. Hot coffee was in high demand, gloves were a must, toes were frozen and the rented heat lamps were gathering places between the rush of donations. The Beat itself kept us warm by broadcasting danceable tunes all day long!
Many Beat listeners were incredibly generous and provided amazing donations to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society, The Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau and the Salvation Army.
Non-perishable food piled up while we were there!
As many of us know, non-perishable donations are a must at this time of year. The food bank relies on you over the holidays, as this is when they collect 75% of their annual donations! To contribute to the on-going donations please go to The Beat website.
Beginning December 1st, we’re donating $1 from every unit of coffee sold to help the children of Guatemala. Now in its fifth year running, our charitable holiday initiative, Kids to School, will split donations between two organizations: Child Aid’s FUNDIT+Project Somos. To date we have raised enough for 345 elementary school scholarships and over $10,000 towards building a village for orphaned children in Guatemala.
This year’s Kids to School program will incorporate our sales from US giant amazon.com and will give the 2009 edition even more fundraising power; leaving little doubt that this December’s Kids to School will raise even more than the record $21,949 raised Canada-wide in December of 2008. The 2009 charitable holiday initiative will benefit both Child Aid’s FUNDIT and Project Somos.
FUNDIT provides children in Guatemala with the finances for school registration fees, uniforms, school supplies, shoes and textbooks, and when necessary, transportation costs and health care for a year. Project Somos is a Vancouver based non-profit organization that is committed to building a village in Guatemala for abandoned and orphaned children. Once completed the village will provide homes for 49 children, complete with organic gardens and orchards. There will also be buildings for art and music workshops, a library, and of course a large playground and soccer field.
Our sweet espresso blend gets a starring role in Showtime’s The L Word! The show was shot in Vancouver, and we guess someone in charge of props must have been a big fan!
