Brewing up Hope
Donation protected
We are on a mission to end the aging out foster youth crisis once and for all. Truly.
First, let's define terms. "Aging out" refers to a child in the foster system turning 18 and leaving care. This means they no longer have a place to live or a support system to help them during the crucial years of transitioning from childhood to adulthood. There are 23,000 leaving care every year in the US. 10,000 in Great Britain and the statistics of what happens to them are heartbreaking. 20% are homeless, there is only a 3% chance they will receive higher education, only 1 in 2 will have employment by the age of 24, 7 out of 10 girls will be pregnant by 21 and 25% are suffering from PTSD.
What are we doing about it?
Well, we are making tea for starters. A cuppa is the answer to everything, right? In this case it really is. We founded Albion Tea Co. 1.5 years ago to ethically source and handcraft unique brews inspired by our favourite fandoms. Then we realized we could go a step further and make the business a platform to engage the foster youth population both stateside and in the UK. Beyond the Brew was born, and we haven't looked back since!
How does this work?
We are setting out to prove a system with our #littleteacompanythatcould. That system consists of several facets:
1. Creating a safe work environment to employ aging out foster youth within our company
2. Building a mentoring system to connect participants with the community they need to thrive
3. Providing housing through a tiny home village initiative, first on lavender and tea farms we are prepping to launch through Albion Tea Co and then beyond
Our big, bold vision:
Once we prove this system within our own company, we will then set out to train and equip other businesses to initiate the same structure. Imagine if every region had even one business doing this. Then every major city, then every town. Working together, we can literally ERASE the aging out foster youth crisis one and for all.
How you can help!
We have been running Albion Tea Co. on our own meager personal funds for the past year and a half and have now reached the point of needing major funding to move forward. A worldwide mission needs a worldwide team to make it happen and this is where YOU come in! Every donation, which you can make right here on GoFundMe, brings us closer to making a lasting impact for the future of foster youth. The beauty of our business model is that as our business grows, so does Beyond the Brew. The end goal is for Albion Tea Co. to completely support Beyond the Brew, which means we will only be reliant on raised funds for a short time to get us off the ground.
The specifics:
We have just relocated to Richmond, Virginia to partner with World Horizons as we propel our foster youth program forward. Virginia has one of the highest percentages of aging out youth in the nation making it an ideal location for us to launch Beyond the Brew. We have opportunity to establish our first brick and mortar location, housing a store front, tea cafe and crafting/shipping space. As soon as we are operating out of a store front we can officially begin hiring, launch the mentoring program and so much more! This GoFundMe campaign will pave our way into the retail location, covering everything from rent, legal fees, cafe and shoppe set up, advertising and marketing for the new location, and significant product expansion in addition to funds to hire our aging out employees, admin team, and managers. Once we are established here, then we move on to the next phase, launching Albion UK, with our very own tea and lavender farm. Its just the beginning, so come join us as we brew up hope around the globe.
DONATE. SHARE. DRINK ALL THE TEA.
https://www.albionteacompany.com/
First, let's define terms. "Aging out" refers to a child in the foster system turning 18 and leaving care. This means they no longer have a place to live or a support system to help them during the crucial years of transitioning from childhood to adulthood. There are 23,000 leaving care every year in the US. 10,000 in Great Britain and the statistics of what happens to them are heartbreaking. 20% are homeless, there is only a 3% chance they will receive higher education, only 1 in 2 will have employment by the age of 24, 7 out of 10 girls will be pregnant by 21 and 25% are suffering from PTSD.
What are we doing about it?
Well, we are making tea for starters. A cuppa is the answer to everything, right? In this case it really is. We founded Albion Tea Co. 1.5 years ago to ethically source and handcraft unique brews inspired by our favourite fandoms. Then we realized we could go a step further and make the business a platform to engage the foster youth population both stateside and in the UK. Beyond the Brew was born, and we haven't looked back since!
How does this work?
We are setting out to prove a system with our #littleteacompanythatcould. That system consists of several facets:
1. Creating a safe work environment to employ aging out foster youth within our company
2. Building a mentoring system to connect participants with the community they need to thrive
3. Providing housing through a tiny home village initiative, first on lavender and tea farms we are prepping to launch through Albion Tea Co and then beyond
Our big, bold vision:
Once we prove this system within our own company, we will then set out to train and equip other businesses to initiate the same structure. Imagine if every region had even one business doing this. Then every major city, then every town. Working together, we can literally ERASE the aging out foster youth crisis one and for all.
How you can help!
We have been running Albion Tea Co. on our own meager personal funds for the past year and a half and have now reached the point of needing major funding to move forward. A worldwide mission needs a worldwide team to make it happen and this is where YOU come in! Every donation, which you can make right here on GoFundMe, brings us closer to making a lasting impact for the future of foster youth. The beauty of our business model is that as our business grows, so does Beyond the Brew. The end goal is for Albion Tea Co. to completely support Beyond the Brew, which means we will only be reliant on raised funds for a short time to get us off the ground.
The specifics:
We have just relocated to Richmond, Virginia to partner with World Horizons as we propel our foster youth program forward. Virginia has one of the highest percentages of aging out youth in the nation making it an ideal location for us to launch Beyond the Brew. We have opportunity to establish our first brick and mortar location, housing a store front, tea cafe and crafting/shipping space. As soon as we are operating out of a store front we can officially begin hiring, launch the mentoring program and so much more! This GoFundMe campaign will pave our way into the retail location, covering everything from rent, legal fees, cafe and shoppe set up, advertising and marketing for the new location, and significant product expansion in addition to funds to hire our aging out employees, admin team, and managers. Once we are established here, then we move on to the next phase, launching Albion UK, with our very own tea and lavender farm. Its just the beginning, so come join us as we brew up hope around the globe.
DONATE. SHARE. DRINK ALL THE TEA.
https://www.albionteacompany.com/
Organizer
Deborah Wilkie
Organizer
Richmond, VA
