Coffee shops quick to help in Haiti relief
Posted: Jan 18, 2010
With so many cafés at the center of civic-minded pursuits—think buzz words like eco-conscious, fair trade and community hub—it’s little surprise that coffee and tea retailers have wasted no time donating profits to organizations aiding in the Haiti earthquake relief effort. Barrington Coffee in Barrington, Mass., for example, came out with a Haitian Relief Artisanal Blend, sales of which benefit Partners in Health. In Vancouver, the Laughing Bean donated all sales made on Jan. 16 to disaster relief. Even Starbucks has put its corporate behemothry to good use, donating $1 million to the American Red Cross and setting up a system for customer donations.
But it’s hard to imagine any shop owner feeling more connection to the Haiti tragedy than Joyce Saint Cyr, who is a native of the reeling island. Cyr now lives in Concord, N.C., and owns a café called the Diversity Den. At the shop, she’s collecting donations of canned goods to be sent to her homeland, and she says the customer response has been powerful. “I am getting so much love,” she says. “They’re coming in, saying what can they do?”
—Dan Leif
