Royal Cup Coffee partners with Neverthirst to bring clean water to under-served regions all over the world through its Roar Office Coffee Program.
BY ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Water quality is important when brewing coffee, and one coffee company hopes that great coffee can lead to better-quality water for people all over the world. Royal Cup Coffee out of Birmingham, Ala., has partnered with Neverthirst, a nonprofit organization that works to provide clean water to communities where accessibility to clean water is limited.
“According to the World Health Organization, more than 3.4 million people die every year as a result of unclean drinking water. That’s more deaths than AIDS, malaria, and measles combined,” a recent Royal Cup press release cites. In a video on the website describing the partnership, Howard Chapman, president of the Office Beverage Division at Royal Cup, describes that in many communities, parents hold off on naming their children until they reach age 4 because so many children are lost to these water-related illnesses.
Royal Cup has partnered with Neverthirst through its Roar line of coffee products aimed at helping offices brew better coffee. For every cup of coffee sold through this line, $.02 will be donated to Neverthirst. “While two pennies may not seem like much at first glance, Royal Cup is currently on track to generate a six-figure donation to Neverthirst by the end of the year,” the press release states. “In just three months, we raised and donated nearly $29,000 to Neverthirst. That’s enough money to provide clean drinking water to [around] 1,200 people, and we’re only going to grow that number with the help of our customers,” shares Jaime Ritter, communications manager for Royal Cup.
Royal Cup chose to work with Neverthirst because of the impact the organization has already had all over the world. “We’ve been able to get to know Neverthirst very well. The fact that they’ve completed 5,906 projects and served over 403,000 people since launching in 2008 was meaningful to us, and our employees are committed to making this a long-term partnership,” Howard shares. Neverthirst works in countries such as Cambodia, Sudan, and Nepal to install wells and water filtration so communities have direct access to clean drinking water. The Royal Cup website also illustrates how funds are used for different projects. $8,500 can buy a well in South Sudan that serves up to 600 families, and $150 can buy a bio-sand filter for a family of five in Nepal.
One of the perks of the program is that consumers can just keep drinking great coffee and still make an impact. “The great thing about this initiative is that people don’t have to change anything they’re already doing. They just have to keep drinking coffee and they’ll be making a difference,” says Michael Hogue, office beverage marketing manager. Royal has an algorithm designed to figure out how much of an impact each office can have: A small office with 10 employees could generate up to $78 in donations, while a large business with 500 employees and three locations could generate over $11,000 for Neverthirst.
The Royal website has extensive information on how you can help bring clean water to underserved regions by simply drinking your office’s coffee everyday. You can also share your commitment to this project by including the hashtag #Roar4Change.
