CafeSmart 2021 is only two weeks away, and for the 11th year running, the annual campaign will see local cafés, coffee drinkers, and the wider industry unite to raise money to address homelessness.
From 2 to 8 August, cafés will put up posters and signs encouraging customers to donate the cost of a coffee via a QR code. On 6 August, cafés will also donate $1 for every coffee sold with café members encouraged to wear yellow and decorate their café on this day.
For the third year running, one of the leading plant-based brands and pioneers of plant-based milk for coffee, Vitasoy Australia is the proud Principal Sponsor of CafeSmart, helping the annual fundraiser to support community driven organisations and those experiencing homelessness.
“With the recent lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne again impacting our communities, small businesses, and community charities, we are again reminded of how important it is to support each other, especially the most vulnerable members of our society,” says Nick Bartram, Marketing and Strategy Director at Vitasoy Australia.
“This year during CafeSmart, it will be more important than ever for cafés to spread the word and coffee drinkers to get out there and support not only their local coffee shops but those doing good in the community.”
Participating cafés will have their details featured on CafeSmart’s interactive map, helping coffee drinkers find them on the day. Each café will also be part of CafeSmart’s #cafesmart #helpyourhood social media campaign.
Donations through Cafesmart are redistributed to help support vital local services tackling homelessness in the café’s own neighbourhood, such as women’s refuges, medical outreach teams. and youth services. The funds also aid in providing meals, clothes, bedding, and showers to those in need.
Over the past 11 years this event has distributed $1.5 million to more than 1000 projects.
Matthew Lewin, 2019 Australian Barista Champion and Vitasoy Brand Ambassador, says CafeSmart provides the coffee industry with an opportunity to unite behind a common cause.
“There’s more to coffee than serving a delicious cup. It’s about the people behind it – who grew it, roasted it, brewed it, and those in the wider community who drink it,” Matthew says.
“Vitasoy’s support of CafeSmart demonstrates its commitment to support local communities in and around where people work, source, and enjoy coffee.”
Vitasoy says by taking part in and supporting CafeSmart, it’s helping to achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal towards No Poverty, by providing funds to small local charities who are supporting vulnerable people to combat poverty.
La Marzocco, BeanScene, and Broadsheet join Vitasoy as supporting sponsors and partners of CafeSmart. Dozens of coffee roasters around Australia have also joined CafeSmart 2021 as Roaster Partners.
To take part in CafeSmart 2021, please visit streetsmartaustralia.org/cafesmart