Minas Hill has announced it will start raising funds for the children of Bom Jesus and Labareda farms, in preparation for the Intermunicipal Games for the Environment (GIMA), and is calling on the support of Australian roasters.
GIMA educates and assists approximately 1000 children per year. Children from the schools surrounding the Bom Jesus farm prepare presentations focused on the environment and compete in games designed to raise awareness about social responsibility.
Marcelo Brussi, Director of Minas Hill Coffee, says at the end of the three days of activities, the children return home with a solid notion of social responsibility and the capacity to make decisions that positively influence their futures.
“For 13 years, GIMA has been part of the annual calendar of Australian roasters. The children, from grade five to seven from different schools in seven cities also eagerly await that date,” says Marcelo.
Traditionally, Australian roasters make generous monetary donations that are converted into bicycles for the children to commute to school. Marcelo says many of the children come from vulnerable families, which need this support in addition to their own paid work.
“Every year, Minas Hill Coffee starts a campaign in Australia to raise funds for the purchase of the bicycles to help children in the rural area where Fazenda Bom Jesus and Labareda are located to commute from their homes to school and vice-versa,” Marcelo says.
“This year Minas Hill will match each contribution, dollar-for-dollar. Our goal is to buy 100 bicycles for the children.”
Since 2020 when the world was ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, Marcelo says Minas Hill had to change its focus to acquiring smart phones for children in these schools, as their access to resources was lacking.
“At this time, a group of Australian roasters bought 233 telephones, specially adapted for school monitoring. With this, GIMA continued with its mission and the children we able to continue with their studies,” he says.
“We have already donated $5000 to the campaign and we hope that not only those roasters who use the coffees at Fazendas Bom Jesus and Labareda step forward and donate to these children, but also other roasters who perhaps use other coffees in our portfolio to come to us and make this donation.
“Let’s show how charitable we are, how much we care about these children and about the future of our beloved coffee chain.”
Marcelo says roasters who wish to contribute can donate to the Minas Hill Foundation.
“Being part of the coffee industry goes beyond just buying, tasting, roasting and selling coffee. Being an immersive part is also helping the country of origin, especially children whose parents work in the coffee industry,” he says.
To make a donation, click here.