Hi bX'ers,

The reports from Haiti are devastating and I think it is a good time for all of us in the coffee industry to be extremely thankful for what we have and how supportive our community really is. I think it's a great time to do what we can for those who have been effected by the recent earthquake, and join those who are doing all they can to help.

I realize it's not the easiest time to donate money for a lot of us, but every small amount counts, and I am confident we at bX can help.

I donated $100 to the Yele Haiti fund tonight on behalf of Barista Exchange, and encourage other companies to do what they can.

Below are some links that will take you to organizations that are helping to make a difference on the ground — please do everything that you can to spread the word.

* American Red Cross
* AmeriCares
* Doctors Without Borders
* UNICEF
* YELE HAITI

You can also use your mobile device to donate – here are two options:

* Text “Yele” to 501501 to donate $5 to the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund (it will be charged to your cell phone bill) or you can visit Yele Haiti and click Donate.
* You can also text “HAITI” to “90999″ and $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross, charged to your cell phone bill.

Wyclef Jean has been a longtime advocate for Haiti. Since the earthquake hit, he’s been tirelessly working on raising money and donations to help aid disaster relief. His Ning Network, ClefZone, launches today and is a great resource for getting involved and learning more.

Thanks again bX, I am so happy to be part of such a great community.

- Matt Milletto

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Thanks for the post Matt and for your donation to Haiti relief efforts. I decided to do a thing called "coffee shops who
care" and am giving 10% of our sales tomorrow to Mercy Corp for Haiti help and have challenged other shops to do the same. Every bit helps. Thanks again! Sue Harnly, Eugene Coffee Company
Watching CNN is enough to break your heart.
I donated to the Red Cross right away.

Perfect example of when the world should get together and help. It is such a catastrophe over there.
I think this is a wonderful idea Sue!

Friends of mine who I served with in Afghanistan have since deployed to Haiti as part of the relief effort. From what I've heard, it's a bit of a logistics nightmare.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas by most economic yardsticks, and it's unfortunate that such a trajedy has struck this ppart of the world, but it's encouraging to see different countries and international agencies banding together to improve the situation, save lives, and give people hope.


Sue Harnly said:
Thanks for the post Matt and for your donation to Haiti relief efforts. I decided to do a thing called "coffee shops who
care" and am giving 10% of our sales tomorrow to Mercy Corp for Haiti help and have challenged other shops to do the same. Every bit helps. Thanks again! Sue Harnly, Eugene Coffee Company
my shop will be having The Delaware Symphony Orchestra performing in our shop on Wednesday to try to raise money
If I may make a very honest comment. Being from Italy, my uncle and his family are from Abruzzo. We suffered the earthquake last year and while it was not devasting, it was very emotional for us because Abruzzo is very historic. Even the aid from the country, I worry that the money will fall in the wrong hands.


The point that I hope does not occur here in Haiti, is that the funds we send are being used in the right manner. It is better for us to be honest if this happens, then we have to correct it. I hope all of you understand where my heart is coming from. I wish only the best for Haiti...
"Perfect example of when the world should get together and help. It is such a catastrophe over there."

A great way to think here.

Europe was very kind to help our region of Abruzzo.
Hey guys,

I'm new here, so... Hi!

At Moja Coffee in North Vancouver, we've banded together with a couple different cafes (Cafe Crema and Cafe for Contemporary Art) to get some support going; 10% of the price of drip coffee and all of our tips are going to Haitian relief, until the end of the month. Like Sandy's program, we started on the 12th.

We've all gotta do our part!
Monday the 11th, we had our order of Haitian coffee shipped from the importer out of Florida. I didn't hear about the earthquake untill i was listening to the radio in my car enroute home on the 12th. I spent the next 5 hours thinking of what we could do with the incoming Haitian coffee in an effort to get money back to Haiti.

http://www.heritagecoffee.com/store/products/coffee/coffee-special.cfm

We will be giving $7 a bag from our sales of the Haitian Blue Pine Forrest coffee to Red Cross of America, possibly other organizations as time progresses.

I don't see this as a one time shot for us, but as a vehicle to continually provide support to the rebuilding efforts that will take much longer than it takes their news to no longer make the headlines.

On another note, since announcing our support of Haitian relief, i have received three calls from local organizations, asking if we would be willing to do something for our own displaced, homeless and struggling people here. It was a good reminder that we really need look no further than our own back yards to find people in need. Hopefully we can all take something out of this other than emergency giving, and maybe look forward to how we can all run something that can give back to our own communities and find ways to support individuals there who might be in need, but without a voice to bring notice to their plight.

--
Travis
For anyone looking for something to do in their coffee shops, may I recommend looking no further than the local artists whose work you put on your walls? My photography friend, Jeremy Cowart, started an international project called help-portrait that was held 12-12 this year. And now, he banding that same community together to raise funds for Haitian relief. For details go here:

Basically, on Valentine's Day you can hold a benefit in which a portion (or all) of the money received from the local art pieces that are sold will go towards helping Haiti. Just think about it! :) You are already selling artwork, why not sell it for a cause? A good pairing with a nice cup/bag of coffee that also benefits Haiti!
Just wanted to add to the list of great ideas on here. While Coffee Kids doesn't have any programs in Haiti, some of us here have donated to AIDG (http://www.aidg.org). They're doing great work at fomenting small businesses focusing on renewable energy, sanitation, water, and other innovative ideas. They help locals create these businesses that address the most basic infrastructure needs from a more sustainable, renewable approach.

Thanks,
Kyle Freund
Communications Manager @ Coffee Kids
One phone call to the local Salvation Army (they operate hospitals and orphanages in Haiti) and they were happy to provide me with a RED KETTLE which we replace our tip jar with. In 9 days we collected $539.00! My customers appreciated our shop for giving them the convenient opportunity to be a part of the relief effort.

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