Ohio Coffee Roaster Succeeds in Crowdfunding Campaign for Honduran Children

Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea, an Ohio coffee roaster and coffee franchise alternative, announced the successful conclusion of its Indiegogo campaign, which achieved the goal of raising $4,800 to improve education for children in the remote coffee-farming community of El Socorro de la Penita, Honduras.

"We want to thank the generous coffee house customers, independent coffee shop owners and vendors whose contributions helped us reach our goal," said Greg Ubert, founder and president. "We were amazed by your outpouring of support."

The funds will add a part-time English-speaking teacher for two years for the community's Jose Cecilio del Valle elementary school, where a single teacher now works with up to 74 children. The ultimate goal is to increase the number of children who attend school beyond the sixth grade. Currently, only five percent of local children move on to seventh grade, and a tiny fraction graduate high school.

"We are excited to be one of the first roasters using crowdfunding initiatives to develop our coffee farming communities," Ubert said. He noted that the educational goal was developed by working with coffee farmers as part of Crimson Cup's Friend2Farmer program. "Community leaders recognize that improving education is vital to transforming their village from poverty to prosperity."

El Socorro is one of the first communities to benefit from Friend2Farmer. Through this program, Crimson Cup works hand-in-hand with farmers to develop better coffee and a better quality of life for their community.

In addition to paying a premium price for the El Socorro Friend2Farmer coffee, Crimson Cup also invests in the health and education of the community. Since 2011, Crimson Cup has supported education in El Socorro by donating funds for new school textbooks, desks for a new computer lab and a new playground fence. In 2013, it also sponsored a service learning trip for Ohio State University students, who developed a five-year plan to transform the impoverished village into a thriving coffee enterprise.

About Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea

Since 1991, Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea has hand-roasted specialty coffee in Columbus, Ohio and taught independent business owners how to be successful through its coffee shop franchise alternative program. Sustainably sourced Crimson Cup coffee is available through a network of more than 350 independent coffee houses, grocers, college and universities, restaurants and food service operations across 28 states, as well as the company's own Crimson Cup Coffee House in the Columbus suburb of Clintonville. For more information, visit crimsoncup.com.

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