Like just about any human, I really enjoy drinking coffee. I’ve actually tried coffee in almost every city I’ve been in, which has been quite a few in the past couple of years. I’ve developed a list of things that I look for in a coffee shop to make it one that I really enjoy, and started creating a list of things I’d like to see in a coffee shop in my hometown, Columbus Ohio.
A little less than a year ago, I met with my friend Kenny Sipes who I’ve known for about 8 years or so. We met in the building that was about to be his brand new coffee shop. What got me the most excited was not just the fact that he was committed to making this on par with anything that would have been on my list of things I was looking for, but he was doing it all for no profit. In 2012 Kenny felt called to quit the job that he was at, with no real idea of what he was gonna do next. I’ve known that he’s always wanted to do something that impacts and betters the world around him, which drew me to him in the first place. His idea was to start a coffee shop, with no real experience other than just loving coffee, and donate all of the money earned to non-profit organizations that he has personally researched and connected with.
Right away I wanted to figure out how to be involved. If you’re like me, you love the idea of donating or at least helping out with a non-profit organization in some way, but have no idea what or who actually stands behind these organizations. We’ve all heard stories of a non-profit organization appearing to look great but ends up not being so great. The idea of The Roosevelt Coffee for me is that I’ve had a relationship with Kenny for years, and know that he has a personal relationship with these organizations…making my decision of where I spend my money way easier. EVEN if it’s just buying a cup of coffee now and again at The Roosevelt rather than Starbucks. I know for sure that 100% of the profit and 50% of tips go to the organization that The Roosevelt has hand selected - including:
Blood-water mission, which addresses the HIV/AIDS and water crises in Africa.
Gracehaven, who addresses the huge need for rehabilitation for victims of domestic minor sex trafficking or, as it is also known, commercial sexual exploitation of children.
The Central Ohio Rescue and Restore Coalition (CORRC), who provide a collaborative community response to human trafficking in central Ohio through education, services, advocacy, and prosecution.
and more. for more detailed information on these and more organizations who The Roosevelt give their profits to, check out this link. http://www.rooseveltcoffee.org/organizations/
If you’re not in Columbus Ohio and still feel like giving something, you can purchase a shirt or hoodie here: https://cottonbureau.com/products/the-roosevelt-coffeehouse-1 and again, 100% of profit goes to these organizations.
In the past 11 months that The Roosevelt has been open, they have donated over $10,000 to the previous mentioned organizations. Pretty awesome.
“The Roosevelt Coffeehouse is a non-profit social enterprise coffee shop built to fight the injustices of hunger, unclean water, and human trafficking.” - Kenny Sipes
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