The Coffee Club rejoins the fight to end homelessness
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The Coffee Club Australia joins the fight against homelessness for the second year as part of the 2023 CafeSmart initiative. The café chain will be fundraising through the first week of August (1st-7th) and donating $1 for every takeaway coffee sold across the country on Friday, 4th Aug to StreetSmart Australia.
“We are proud to be rejoining the fight against homelessness, after raising over $18,000 for CafeSmart in 2022,” said Jessica Crokidas, National Partnerships Marketing Manager.
“Our continued partnership with StreetSmart on this initiative is something our communities can truly reap the benefits from across the country.”
CafeSmart, a StreetSmart initiative, has raised over $2 million over its tenure through cafes across Australia. Funds raised across the week are tracked and returned to grassroots organisations from where the money was raised. In 2022, The Coffee Club joined as the first national café chain to support the cause.
“We know we have a homelessness crisis in Australia and CafeSmart shows that the public want that to change and do their bit to help. It’s a great opportunity to help fund smaller homeless services on the frontline. We encourage everyone to find their local participating café. But if you can’t head into a café, you can donate the cost of a coffee through our website,” said Geoff Hills, CEO, StreetSmart Australia.
This news comes after The Coffee Club Australia’s recent tour of 3rd Space, a Brisbane-local organisation that CafeSmart fundraised for in 2022.
“It has been a fantastic experience for our stores to follow the journey of the fundraising efforts in store and see it make change in their communities,” said Crokidas, “Our recent visit to 3rd Space truly reinforced our support for CafeSmart and how important it is to help organisations, like 3rd Space, provide their essential services.”
3rd Space is a centre where people experiencing or at risk of homelessness find support, friendship, and dignity. The centre supports a variety of funding initiatives to help skill-building, quality of life and more – but also relies on community support, such as CafeSmart, to run un-funded but equally essential supports, such as a café offering, hot showers, laundry services and more.
“3rd Space is dedicated to breaking the cycle of homelessness through supporting at-risk people today and preparing them for tomorrow,” said Lesley Leece, CEO at 3rd Space.
“Having the support from organisations such as StreetSmart and The Coffee Club is vital – not only to run our programs but also to spread awareness throughout our community so more people can support the cause.”
To join the fight against homelessness in Australia, get your daily coffee at your local The Coffee Club café on Friday 4th of August, or donate at https://donorbox.org/cafesmart2023-donate-tcc
Menchie Khairuddin is a writer Deputy Content Manager at Akolade and content producer for Third Sector News. She is passionate about social affairs specifically in mixed, multicultural heritage and not-for-profit organisations.
