Coffee for a Cause
It was Thanksgiving Day '18 and we just left a Chinese orphanage with our new son in our arms, with the images of countless precious children that we left behind etched into our hearts. We previously lived in China and knew these children deserved a family just like our son. But how could we advocate for them?
Enter Darren's side hobby for years: coffee roasting. He learned from a penny-pinching coffee connoisseur friend in college by hiding in their dorm utility closet so the fire alarm wouldn't be triggered! He roasted coffee personally and gave it to family and friends, who always encouraged him to sell it. But as teachers living in Asia for five years, it wasn't the right time. Fast forward a few years to us living in the Orlando area and being exhausted from running multiple fundraisers for our first adoption six months ago. How could we create one simple fundraiser that would benefit everyone, while advocate for countless children in orphanages and families in crisis?
The answer was simple: turn Darren's side hobby of coffee roasting into a "coffee for a cause" to raise money for our second adoption, while telling others about the need for families to say "YES!" to precious children. We quickly raised all the funds needed to bring our son home in 2020, but due to the pandemic, all adoptions were halted. What do we do now?
We began receiving requests for other adoptive families to help them raise funds and we knew we couldn't say no. Since September 2020, we have partnered with 25 adoptive families (one family twice!) and 3 family preservation charities to donate $19,042 to help precious children and families all over the world! We donate $1 from every bag of our roast-to-order beans and 50% of our tips from events.
Expanding to Give More
We have loved roasting and setting up at the Sanford farmer's market and other local events in the Orlando area. But the need is great, so we want to do MORE! We believe that a local coffee shop that builds community through events, job opportunities, and featuring other local vendors is the best way to continue our mission!
- We have a beautiful location in Sanford, FL on a busy highway and with lots of seating space
- Our partners and ourselves have personally donated $25,000 for the initial start up costs
- We need to raise an additional $25,000 to cover the costs of building out the coffee shop and outfitting it
Your Impact
By donating to our coffee shop, you will be investing in precious children's lives and their families! We will continue to donate each month to a different adoptive family or family preservation charity. We usually give around $500 every month, so we can't wait to expand that number as our profits increase...our big dreams is to DOUBLE our giving each month or more! Our coffee changes precious lives and we'd love for you to be apart of this!
- Enjoy our freshly roasted coffee and other perks while know you're helping others
- In four years, we've already donated to 25 adoptive families and 3 charities totaling $19,042
- 14 children have been adopted or met their adoptive families, 15 matched children waiting to be adopted, 3 children's live-saving medical surgeries completed, and numerous Ugandan families supported through food, housing, and land to become self-sufficient
Risks & Challenges
Through the generosity of our partners and capital from our coffee roasting business, we have enough money to begin the work of building out this location...but this won't cover completely outfitting our place (i.e. furniture, appliances, etc.). That's why we need YOU to get this job finish and open our doors soon!
- We have a loyal Sanford customer following who have been asking us for years to open a coffee shop! We can't wait for you to enjoy our coffee six days a week!
- We know this is a risk to commit to a location without all the money, but we believe with faith, hard work, and the partnership of others, this coffee shop will happen!
Other Ways You Can Help
Whether you donate today or aren't able to at this time, YOU can still support our "coffee for a cause":
- Please share this link to your social media & be sure to tag us (@hao.bao.bao.coffee on FB, Tik Tok, and IG) so we can say thanks!
- Purchase a bag of our roast-to-order coffee at haobaobaocoffee.com and we'll donate $1 to our crowdfunding goal!
