Veneziano Coffee Roaster’s Head Green Bean Buyer and 2017 World Coffee Roasting Championship runner up Jack Allisey will shave his beard for CafeSmart on 24 March.
Jack will partake in Shave the Barista, an initiative taking place at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE) at 4pm on the ASCA Main stage.
Industry members and StreetSmart supporters are encouraged to support Jack as he decides to loose his bearded locks for charity.
StreetSmart was established in 2003 and raises vital funds for local organisations fighting homelessness. The organisation runs CaféSmart annually, which sees cafés around Australia donate $1 from every coffee sold.
In 2016, CaféSmart raised a record-breaking $164,957 thanks to the efforts of cafés and roasters. In addition to other one-off gifts and generous financial donations, a combined total of $223,000 was tallied to fund vital local grassroots homeless services.
“To be able to leverage on the CaféSmart event in this way showed how people were inspired by our efforts and recognised the importance of the grants we provide to the community,” says Streetsmart Australia CEO Adam Robinson.
In 2011, 175 cafés participated in the event, and in 2016 that figure rose to 513 cafés. At the same time, Adam says the number of supporting roasters has increased from eight to 42, with companies such as Veneziano driving the campaign.
“Roasters get out there and engage with their cafés and encourage participation and support their cafés on the day,” Adam says. “As a small organisation ourselves, we just wouldn’t have seen the growth in the campaign without this support.”
Likewise, Adam says the generosity from small businesses and their customers is next level.
Adam has nurtured the CaféSmart initiative from the very beginning. He says the opportunity to view Australia’s homeless conditions and take action is a challenging yet rewarding position to be in.
“Through CaféSmart, I see how people across Australia are concerned about homelessness and want to help. We want a compassionate, caring community, and increasingly, people understand that anyone can become homeless,” he says. “CaféSmart enables people to take action and get involved – helping to fund really practical projects that deliver real outcomes.”
Last year, CaféSmart funded 118 local projects and organisations, each having a real impact on people’s lives. Such projects included Sherwood Neighbourhood Centre to provide hygiene packs, Hobart City Mission to support homeless young mums, Merri Outreach to provide intensive support for young children, and My Friends Place Women’s Refuge to build storage for women’s belongings, among many others.
To support Jack, and help end homelessness in Australia, donate online now.
