On November 9th, 2019, a group of volunteers and runners from LavAazza Professional and their friends/family will be running the Rocky Run (Italian Stallion Challenge) to help raise funds for the new classrooms and garden improvements at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Orphanage in Sonsonate El Salvador that support children of coffee growing families.   To join our team and run with us, please goto this website to register:
https://rockyrun.com/register/index.html
You can join by doing a 5K, 10mile, or 13.1mile Italian Stallion Challenge.   When you register, it will ask you if you want to join a team.  Join the team called:
COFFEE KIDS GARDEN

If you want to support our runners and fundraising effort, please use this site to make a donation and indicate the runner you are supporting in your donation notes.   To understand the 10+ years of support we have provided this orphanage, please read the story below.

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), http://www.inmaculadocorazondemaria.org 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 I personally 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.
See the history of this annual activity at:
http://www.neverbehungry.org

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 right 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 will be fund raising 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 2 new classrooms that are much needed for additional coffee kids that have been added to the educational program.


 Note: 100% of your donation will go directly to Hogar Immaculado Corazon de Maria.