Coffee top-up a big help for families
Home On Stout cafe manager Ben Winter and his staff are busy making between 800 and 1000 coffees every day.
And with customers able to donate 50 cents for each cup, that’s a big potential boost to Wellington City Mission’s major winter charity project.
Cafes from around the region have signed up to participate in the Great Wellington Pick Me Up, which offers coffee drinkers a chance to add a 50 cent donation when they buy a cup.
From Monday through to May 20, coffee drinkers in greater Wellington can opt in to this scheme to raise money for the organisation ahead of the harsher winter months.
For every donation, people can also enter a draw to win free cups of coffee for a year.
Winter said Home On Stout first signed up for the drive last year and raised around $500. ‘‘So we thought it was a natural progression to do it this year.
‘‘It’s not much effort and if you’re all doing it, it adds up. Five hundred dollars here doesn’t sound like a great deal of money but if you think about it in 50-cent increments, it’s quite a lot.’’
The cafe is a bit of a lucky spot as well – last year, the winner of the year’s free coffees bought his winning cup from Home On Stout and works in the same building as the cafe.
‘‘He was in here the other day actually, asking when his year was up,’’ Ben said.
The drive would also turn into a competition between staff. They would compete to see who could raise the most money and banter with the customers, Ben said.
Campaign co-ordinator Sarah Thomas has been busy working behind the scenes the last few weeks, talking to cafe owners and figuring out little ways to bring more people in to donate to the cause.
‘‘A lot of people want to support us in any way they can.’’
Winter can be a hard time, as heating costs rise and financial pressures build on struggling families.
Money from the Great Wellington Pick Me Up, as well as other City Mission winter appeals such as the Brown Paper Bag collection, will go towards providing food parcels for low-income families, providing financial mentoring services and continuing programmes at its Newtown drop-in centre.
‘‘Five hundred dollars here doesn’t sound like a great deal of money but if you think about it in 50 cent increments, it’s quite a lot.’’
Home On Stout cafe manager Ben Winter