Bravery Blends is ‘coffee with a cause’

MONEY RAISED FROM COFFEE SALES GOES TO HELP FIRST RESPONDERS

Thirteen years later, Heather Heystek remembers it starkly.

It was in early March 2005 that four members of the RCMP were gunned down in Mayerthorpe. Heystek, a civilian staff member at the detachment office, was one of the first to know.

In the small Alberta community, she also knew the police officers. She was left in grief, along with so many community members in Mayerthorpe and far beyond.

Today, now living in Lethbridge, Heystek has found a way for Canadians to show their support for peace officers and other first responders — wherever they live.

She is shipping locally roasted Bravery Blends coffee to police stations, fire halls and individuals, then donating the proceeds to social agencies that help first responders. The first to be supported, she says, was Wounded Warriors Canada.

It provides a range of support services, she says, including couples therapy and family events for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) survivors. It’s also involved in studying the issues, which also involve firefighters, emergency medical technicians and other first responders.

“Canada is doing a lot of research on this,” Heystek says.

But there’s so much more PTSD study and counselling needed, she points out.

Increasing numbers of Canadians are recognizing the issue, Heystek believes — and they’re ready to back it. They’re supporting “coffee for a cause.”

In the city, she says, Bravery Blends varieties are being sold by Lethbridge Tactical Supplies on 13 Street North. They’re roasted for her by Cuppers Coffee, she adds.

“They’ve really supported us, from the ground up.”

This month, in remembrance of those lost in Mayerthorpe, a new blend has been released. It’s “Night Watch,” a little darker than the initial tastes. Heystek says income from it will go to a second organization, the Legacy Place Society.

“It does a lot of ‘boots on the ground’ work,” she says, including suicide prevention.

It was southern Alberta people, she says, who helped propel Heystek’s dream to become reality.

With logistical support from ATB Financial, she launched a crowd-funding campaign. As a story in the Lethbridge Herald explained, Heystek had to reach her initial goal within a limited period of time. “I had 30 days to raise $10,000,” she says. “I did it,” with more than $11,000 support from 122 backers across Canada.

Today there’s a lot more support for Bravery Blends, she acknowledges. But she’s working fulltime in Lethbridge, she says, attending to the coffee sales in her spare time. “It’s a passion for me, not really a business.”