Coffee Kids Celebrates 25th Anniversary At The Melbourne International Coffee Expo
Santa Fe, NM – Coffee Kids has attended the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s annual conference since its inception. They’ve attended the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe’s annual conference since 2007. This year, their 25th anniversary, marks the first year they attended the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE2013) from May 23 to 26, 2013—and it was a remarkable experience both in funds raised and in friends made.
“This has been a hugely successful venture for us,” said Carolyn Fairman, Coffee Kids executive director. “We are both surprised by and deeply grateful for the hospitality and support shown to us at MICE2013.”
Prime Creative Media made Coffee Kids part of the event from the get-go by combining their MICE2013 media launch with a fundraiser for Coffee Kids’ GROW it Forward food security campaign, raising $5,670. They then made Coffee Kids’ attendance possible by purchasing plane tickets and providing them with a stand for the trade show. They welcomed the organization to Australia with a hugely successful charity dinner as well as a silent and live auction. Twenty-six companies sponsored tables at the dinner and another nine companies donated items to be auctioned off. All in all, more than $35,000 were raised that night.
“The MICE2013 team and supporters were very pleased to host a dinner in honour of Coffee Kids’ 25 years of work at origin to improve the lives of coffee farmers and their families. The dinner hosted 274 people and collectively raised $37,260 for Coffee Kids, well exceeding our initial goal of $20,000. The total donations were a collaborative effort from businesses purchasing tables and contributing products for the auctions,” says MICE2013 Show Director Clint Hendry. “The sentiment shared by our team and our clients who contributed so generously was that the evening was a great opportunity and privilege for all of us to make a small contribution to the dedicated work of Coffee Kids.”
KeepCup provided complimentary wash-up stations for reusable cups through their Salute the Reuser initiative at this year’s MICE2013. They donated 10 cents to Coffee Kids for every cup washed. Joining the initiative were Seven Seeds, Five Senses and Griffiths Coffee, each matching or exceeding Keep Cup’s donation per wash for their own ceramic ware. Volunteers and KeepCup staff manned the washing stations. They’ve so far raised nearly $2000 for Coffee Kids projects, and the funds are still rolling in.
About Coffee Kids
Coffee Kids, Inc., is a development organization dedicated to improving the lives and livelihoods of coffee-farming families. Founded in 1988, the organization works closely with partners in coffee-growing communities to create programs that respect the values, cultural integrity and ingenuity of the communities they serve.
To learn more about Coffee Kids or to make a donation, please visit www.coffeekids.org.
