Sweet Morning Charities/Velez Partnership

Each time we did inventory and saw how "little" we were raising for charity our kids (and the teachers!) seemed a little down. We were getting to school every Friday at 7:00am and working hard till 8:30. Not to mention all the hours we put in during the week recruiting volunteers, requesting baked goods, and organizing musicians to play in the shop. So when we realized we raised about $60-$100 per month, some of the students spoke up. They asked "Why are we paying the school more than the charity is recieiving....We have so much at this school, how can we give more to Fundacion Reina de Quito?" With students saying what our minds were thinking, we asked our PR rep to set up a meeting with Velez Coffee Company.

The kids put together a presentation in one week and after showing Isabel our coffee shop, we presented in the school's conference room. The students shared stories of our start up, what our values are and how we bring the community together, and of course our partnership with Reina de Quito. Isabel from Velez was left in tears and ready to build a partnership today. She asked not only how much coffee we needed, but offered to take us to the coffee plantation and factory! (Field trip...hey!) Although it's just the beginning we're seeing how capable and powerful our students message can be...even in front of real-world professionals!