Covid Emergency Relief-Coffee Kids El Salvador

OUR COFFEE KIDS STORY:

Since 2008, after seeing the needs of coffee growing families from coffee/cocoa origin trips, I adopted an orphanage in Sonsonate, El Salavador (Hogar Immaculado Corazon de Maria),(https://www.hogarinmaculadocorazondemaria.com)and since 2008 have done annual fund raisers with the support of MARS Drinks (now LavAzza Professional) associates for this orphanage (bike races, triathalons, and talent shows). Every year we bring the proceeds to Hogar Immaculado Corazon de Maria to help support the education and supply needs of their 55+ orphans and 200+ students. In fact, in 2014 we built a digital Skype classroom with support from Microsoft. MARS Incorporated recognized this effort as a global recipient of the bi-annual MAKE THE DIFFERENCE program in the PEOPLE in the Community category. In 2015, 9 ambassadors from the MARS Ambassador Program (now called the LavAzza Global Ambassador Program) helped fund raise to build a kitchen and laundry at the orphanage. 

In 2016, another team of LavAzza Professional associates from the LavAzza Global Ambassador Program- went to El Salavador again and as part of this trip fund raising efforts were established to help get a new Van for the 250+ kids at Hogar Immaculado Corazon de Maria. To help support this effort, 2015 LavAzza Global Ambassador participants and 2016 participants set up fund raisers around the world and with the amazing support of our friends at the COEX foundation in El Salavador we were able to deliver the orphangage the much needed van.  The 2016 LavAzza Global Ambassadors asked some of the children what the orphanage needed most, and to our suprise they said- "we need consistent clean water." So in 2017 a new group of 7 LavAzza Global Ambassadors , my daughter Gianna LaRusso along with the support of the 2015 and 2016 ambassadors, our friends and family who have supported us in the past, and our friends at the COEX Foundation set another ambitious goal to turn on a sustainable water solution for the orphanage .  The funds raised in 2017  helped drill an appropriate well , and find the much needed pumping system for the entire orphanage and school.  The 2018 campaign helped drill an additional 40 feet (beyond the 60 feet already completed) to help hit a sustainable/quality watersolution. We hit water and finished this project in Fall 2018.   

In 2019, we fund raised for much needed improvements in their garden where Mother Ursula grows coffee, cocoa, and grows food used by the orphanage to feed the children, and a new computer classroom with 13 new computers that were much needed for these coffee kids to help them with their future.   

In 2020-2021 we were originally focused on the need for high school juniors and seniors to help them become LIFE READY with English Classes and Professional Education.  Then the COVID-19 Pandemic hit, and it affected El Salvador even more than the countries we live in.  So a group of over 100 from Lavazza and friends and family of Lavazza rallied together along with friends at the Society For Hospitality & Foodservice Management, former #lavazza Global Ambassadors, and especially the #Lavazzafoundation to help us hit and exceed our fundraising goal for 2020/2021 to help 52 children and 6 teachers at an orphanage we support in the coffee growing country of El Salvador that have been affected by this pandemic. Working with our partners at coffee origin we provided the funds needed to provide these children (many of whom we have watched live at previous graduations over the last 12 years) with mobile devices to be able to receive and submit school work and communicate with their teachers remotely. THANKS FOR GIVING to all our partner participants for all these fundraising efforts!

The Pandemic is NOT OVER and getting worse for our Coffee Kids in El Salvador. For 2022, we no need to focus on emergency relief for the support of the basics of food, healthcare needs, and utilities/shelter support. 100% of the 2022 fundraiser will be focused on these basic needs.