The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, a family-owned chain of specialty coffee and tea stores based in Southern California, announced that its third annual “Support from Home” campaign raised more than $60,540.77 for The Fisher House Foundation, which offers aid to injured U.S. troops and their families. As a result of the campaign, which ran in stores from June 29 to September 8, 35,264 bags of the “Support from Home” coffee blend were donated to troops serving overseas. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf presented a check to the Fisher House Foundation in a ceremony at its annual general managers’ conference in Santa Monica, California.
From June 29 to September 8, customers of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf purchased and donated bags of “Support from Home Blend” to troops abroad. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf then partnered with Soldier’s Angeles, an organization that ships care packages to military personnel, to get donated coffee to troops. Customers were encouraged to write a note on the bags of coffee, letting the soldiers know how much their work is appreciated. Additionally, for each bag of donated coffee, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf pledged to donate $1 to The Fisher House Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports injured veterans and their families. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf was able to enhance the donation this year by offering customers who purchased the “Support from Home Blend” a “support from home” keychain for the first time. When customers showed their keychain to a Coffee Bean team member, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf pledged to donate 10 percent of their beverage purchase to The Fisher House. This year, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf surpassed last year’s donation of over 19,000 bags of coffee and over to $19,000 to The Fisher House Foundation.
“I’m elated and touched by the tremendous outpour of compassion and excitement for the Support from Home campaign this year,” says Coffee Bean district manager Lynda Baker, who helped spearhead the operation. “The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has always been a gathering place for friends and communities and I feel like by participating in ‘Support from Home,’ we have been able to expand our family across the globe.”
The “Support from Home Blend” is a pre-ground blend of medium roast coffee with flavor notes of cherry and chocolate; a 12-ounce bag cost $9.95. Coffee donations are tax deductable and deliveries to overseas troops facilitated through the organization Soldiers’ Angels, which coordinates the delivery of donated goods to U.S. Armed Forces deployed around the world.