Streetsmart will launch its 12th edition of CafeSmart this year, taking place from 1 to 7 August during Homelessness week.
Over the past 11 years, the event has helped raise and distribute more than $1.6 million across over 1000 projects tackling homelessness.
Cafés, roasters, green bean traders and coffee lovers are invited to take part to raise funds for much needed local grassroots projects fighting homelessness.
This year, after the height of the pandemic and devastating floors in Queensland and Northern New South Wales’, donated funds will be targeted to emergency relief efforts, material aid and support for people most at risk of homelessness in directly affected and neighbouring communities.
“After the past two years, people want to know where their money is going, and we want to provide that transparency and sustainable connection by working with grassroots projects in the local areas of participating cafés and businesses,” says StreetSmart Australia CEO Geoff Hills.
Cafés are invited to donate $1 per coffee sold on Friday 5 August. Customers are also encouraged to donate via the QR code on provided posters throughout the week of CafeSmart.
This year, roasters are invited to donate a portion of retail beans or online sales towards the impact of the event, or encourage their café network to sign up for CafeSmart.
“We have had around 850 cafés and more than 60 roasters connecting to the event in the past and we hope everyone will jump on board again. It’s not just about the numbers, but the quality of activation and community engagement,” Geoff says.
This year, La Marzocco Australia is a Principal Sponsor of the event, joining the likes of Vitasoy and media partners Broadsheet, BeanScene and the Melbourne International Coffee Expo to help up-scale the impact across the country.
“La Marzocco has a longstanding affinity with CaféSmart and is very passionate about its cause, as it aligns so closely with our own social purpose of ‘giving back to drive change’ – so extending our ongoing support is a natural next step for us, and the team love being involved,” says La Marzocco Australia Managing Director Barry Moore.
“We’re in a privileged position where we serve roasters and hospitality operators of all sizes across Australia and through those connections, we’re really hoping to amplify the awareness of CafeSmart and Streetmart and the incredible work they do to prevent homelessness. Many initiatives that the campaign funds lead to creating working opportunities and career pathways within the coffee sector, so it’s a no brainer for us to jump onboard.”
The La Marzocco team are looking forward to help elevate the campaign by engaging the roaster community and through the Brewtech technical team, in the cafés they serve, along with helping promote CaféSmart in different industry events, and encourage audiences to donate the cost of a coffee to support those at risk in their local areas.
“It is our shared love for coffee and passion to give back to our communities, that makes our partnership with La Marzocco Australia such a special one,” says Geoff.
“The partnership is genuine, with lots of mentoring, advice, capacity building and connecting across the coffee and hospitality sector, for which we are really grateful.”
The CafeSmart team will be touring across Sydney, Queensland, Melbourne, and Western Australia to reintroduce the charity to new communities and visit longstanding supporters.
For more information and to sign up now, visit streetsmartaustralia.org/cafesmart/
