On the 3rd of August, 815 cafes and 50 Coffee Roasters teamed up with their customers to raise over $205,000 for local grassroots homeless projects. It was a massive community effort and by working together we are going to impact many lives. Read More
Here at StreetSmart we love this time of year. DineSmart is in full swing with 122 restaurants around the country busy raising funds for us and we get to announce our CafeSmart Community Grants – the culmination of all that hard work a few months ago. With the support of thousands of coffee drinkers and more than 763 cafes we were able to raise a record $215,500 back on 4th August. Our generous Sponsors sponsored, Roasters donated beans, baristas brewed, and thousands of people came together to raise funds and take action against homelessness.
The Grenet Foundation and the Australian Communities Foundation kicked in an additional $70,000 in matched funding through our ‘Collective’ – bringing our CafeSmart total to $285,500 for local homelessness projects.
We have been able to support 156 organisations across Australia, including 46 new organisations and 12 Lead Grant projects. A massive thank you to everyone who got involved and made these grants possible – here is where your dollars are headed….
On the 4th August 763 cafes and 50 Coffee Roasters teamed up with their customers to raise over $200,000. HOW GOOD IS THAT! It was a massive community effort resulting in an increase in donations of 25% (on 2016 results) so we are all pretty chuffed!
A huge thanks and a hearty slap on the back to everyone who participated and chipped into the CafeSmart pot, all those micro donations really add up. We are now busy working to distribute these funds to support local homeless services and will announce recipients in late November. CafeSmart is all about the $1 micro donation and how we can all take action and chip in to make a difference. We love and appreciate all our CafeSmart supporters and participants, and it is certainly the case that the sum is more than the parts, however, we also like to acknowledge our top contributors…
The drivers of CafeSmart are our Roaster Partners. They help us connect with the industry and cafes across the country. Coffee Roasters are the engine room of CafeSmart. Our 2017 Roaster Champs were the awesome crew at Single O who recruited and supported 64 of their wholesale customers. A close second and runners up were long-time supporters Five Senses. Our Top Five Coffee Roasters were…
The Single O team take out the Top Roaster Award
This year we had 30% more cafes involved across Australia with a big jump in NSW and QLD. This means that more homeless projects in those States will be funded and more people helped. Every café who gets involved has an impact on their community, and in some cases cafes go beyond the call of duty. Hats off to our top fundraisers…
The team at Yellow Bernard in Hobart were once again our National Fundraising Champions raising a staggeringly huge $1,686, and Two Chaps in Marrickville were our Runners Up raising an equally amazing $1,541. Single O CBD in Sydney were our ‘Beat Your Best’ Champs increasing their Year on Year tally by the most, and the ‘Best New Café’ went to The Grounds in the City in Sydney. This year we also introduced the ‘Collection Box Challenge’ which was won by On The Go Espresso in Marcoola, Sunshine Coast, who collected $822.50 from their very generous customers. We also acknowledge cafes and people who shone as our Community Champions – putting in a huge effort to make CafeSmart such a success.
David and team at Yellow Bernard, Hobart, Top Fundraisers Award
| Fundraising Awards | Café Name |
|---|---|
| National Fundraising Champions | Yellow Bernard |
| National Top Fundraiser Runners Up | Two Chaps Cafe |
| Top 10 National Fundraisers - No. 3 | The Grounds of Alexandria |
| Top 10 National Fundraisers - No. 4 | Kwik Koffee Busselton |
| Top 10 National Fundraisers - No.5 | Higher Ground |
| Top 10 National Fundraisers - No.6 | The Grounds of the City |
| Top 10 National Fundraisers - No. 7 | Yelo |
| Top 10 National Fundraisers - No.8 | Single O - Surry Hills |
| Top 10 National Fundraisers - No.9 | Axil Coffee Roasters - HQ |
| Top 10 National Fundraisers - No. 10 | Top Paddock |
| Beat Your Best Champs | Single O - CBD CAFÉ |
| Beat Your best runners up | On The Go Espresso |
| Beat Your Best - No.3 | Kwik Koffee Busselton |
| Beat Your Best - No.4 | Flock Espresso & Eats |
| Beat Your Best - No.5 | The Cog |
| National Best New Café | The Grounds of the City |
| Best New Café runners up | Axil Coffee Roasters - Chadstone |
| Best New Café - No.3 | Le Grove Cafe |
| Best New Café - No.4 | Padre Coffee Sth Melb Mkt |
| Best New Café - No.5 | Milky Joe's |
| State Champs | |
| ACT | Stand By Me |
| NSW | Two Chaps Café |
| NT | Laneway Specialty Coffee |
| QLD | On The Go Espresso |
| SA | Taste the Yorke |
| TAS | Yellow Bernard |
| VIC | Higher Ground |
| WA | Kwik Koffee Busselton |
| Collection Box Challenge - Winner | On The Go Espresso |
| Collection Box Challenge- Runner up | Yellow Bernard |
| Collection Box Challenge - 3rd | Taste the Yorke |
| Collection Box Challenge - 4th | Kwik Koffee Busselton |
| Collection Box Challenge - 5th | Single O - Surry Hills |
| Community Champions Awards | Alowishus Delicious |
| Danni Mann - Besser Kitchen | |
| Dave Humphrys - On the Go Espresso | |
| Mrs P's | |
| Pioneer Coffee Roasters | |
| Stand By Me Café | |
| Two Chaps Café | |
| Vertue of the Coffee Drink | |
| Yellow Bernard |
We couldn’t raise these funds without the support of our event sponsors so a huge shout out and thanks to SKIP (our Principal Sponsors), Broadsheet, La Marzocco and Ordermate for their financial support and commitment to the event and cause, and for the help from supporters Cargo Crew and Beanscene.
We had over 1250+ photos posted to social media – check out the winners here.
And a selection from the event in our Facebook Photo Album
Finally – thanks to everyone who drank a brew or two on the day and chipped in to help us support people across our communities doing it tough.
A protest message at Sydney’s Martin Place Homeless Camp.
The causes of homelessness are many and varied. Domestic violence, a shortage of affordable housing, sudden or long term unemployment, mental illness, family breakdown and drug and alcohol abuse all contribute to individual experiences of homelessness.
At the population level the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare tells us that there are two main reasons people experience homelessness. Simply not being able to afford housing and domestic violence. Read More
Besser Kitchen & Brew Bar on CafeSmart campaign day, 2016
Danielle Mann is co-owner of two of Darwin’s first specialty coffee cafes – Besser Kitchen & Brew Bar and Laneway Speciality Coffee. Both premises serve up high-quality Campos Coffee and are among CafeSmarts most committed participants.
Danielle has been a part of CafeSmart for six years, first joining us when she was operating a cafe in Sydney. “When I moved back to Darwin, getting our new cafes on board with CafeSmart was one of the first things we did. Even though is a national campaign – you know that it is supporting people in your own backyard and that is really important.
In our area, we have supported two projects that support women and children escaping domestic violence. That is such important impact, and small grants can make a big difference.”
Up North, our CafeSmart grants support the Aboriginal and Islander Women’s Shelter and Dawn House. The Northern Territory has the highest rates of domestic violence in the country, which is why our grants are lending a hand to the work these organisations do. Last year Dawn House supported 500 families in their crisis and transitional housing and our CafeSmart grant helped to fund their children’s school holiday program.
Susan Crane from Dawn House said a bit of fun can make a big difference to children experiencing crisis. “Most of the mother’s we see are on income support, so they would not normally be able to access these types of programs. For children recovering from trauma, getting out of the shelter to go skating and have a bit fun is really positive.”
When CafeSmart sign-up time rolls around each year, Danielle’s two premises are the first to populate our map of participating cafes. She explains that it’s an opportunity to raise funds, awareness, and to be a little creative in supporting the local community.
“CafeSmart is a great way to get raise awareness, involve customers, and it’s a great uplifting event for the staff too. This year, I think we’ll get everyone dressed up in the bright CafeSmart yellow.”
Although her two busy cafes are among the top fundraisers – Danielle is keen to drum up more support for the CafeSmart cause in the Darwin area.
“Darwin is a such a small place, so I know lots of the other cafe owners personally. Through those personal connections and talking about what our cafes are doing – I hope to encourage another 10 cafe’s in Darwin to come on board and raise $5000 for our area.”
One of the humbling things about CafeSmart is that it is a nationwide campaign, driven by local people who care about their community. I asked Danielle what drives her commitment to the campaign.
“The stigma around homelessness doesn’t really match the reality – homelessness can impact anyone. I just want to do what I can, and I think CafeSmart is a simple way to do that”
We will be bringing you more #LocalHero stories in the coming weeks – from cafes big and small.
You can #HelpYourHood this #CafeSmart campaign by signing up your café, or looking for your local this August 4.
Dave Humphreys is On the Go Espresso – a zippy little caffeine station that clocks up to 150 kilometres in a day serving up customers all over the Sunshine Coast. On the Go Espresso is also one of CafeSmart’s quiet achievers.
Since 2015 Dave’s collection box has more than doubled the totals from the $1 per coffee sold on the day. I gave Dave a call to talk about the secret to his CafeSmart success. It turns out the secret ingredient: passion for cause. Read More
CafeSmart is a campaign built on the energy and commitment of the coffee industry around Australia. Campos Coffee have been a CafeSmart Roasting Partner for six years, and have taken out our Coffee Roaster Award for the last three.
With this year’s campaign rounding the bend, I caught up with Campos Director Rafael Bartowski about what CaféSmart means for their business. Read More
We are one month away from CafeSmart – one of the biggest campaigns in the StreetSmart calendar. Behind the scenes, our Sponsors, Roasting Partners, and participating cafes are gearing up to raise funds for homeless services in their local area. Amid the madness that goes into the campaign, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on why it matters.
Homelessness is complex, and its impacts are far reaching. Read More
Everyday, the StreetSmart family of community projects, supporting partners, and everyday people are out there making life a little easier for the more than 644,000 people who go hungry every month, and 105,000 of those who do not have a safe place to call home.
John and Steph are Makers Fine Coffee, a budding speciality roaster based in inner East Melbourne. We got to know Steph and John in their previous lives running a café in Kew. They were early supporters CaféSmart, and are now spreading the love as a Roaster Partner.
John and Stef at Maker
I caught Steph for a chat in their sleek premises to talk coffee, community and impact. Like many of our Roasting Partners, the Makers’ passion for coffee goes hand in hand with passion for community. Stretching from growing countries, to the local roastery and the people in the local area.
“The community focus of CaféSmart translates in a visible way to the locality, and it makes complete sense for us as a business to support good work happening in our area.”
And that local impact is very tangible. Just a short hop from their premises is FareShare, a food recue organisation that turns surplus food bound for landfill into nutritious hot meals that are distributed to charities all over Melbourne.
The food rescue model has been something StreetSmart has supported through its early days. With billions of dollars of food waste going into landfill every year, and 2 million people going without – supporting food rescue is a no brainer for us.
Volunteers in the FareShare kitchen
Following the CaféSmart bread crumbs, I popped into meet with FareShare and one of our supporting partners, Jets from La Marzocco, who have their office near by. While Makers donations have found their way down the road, Jets decided to take time out from the office to volunteer.
“Through CaféSmart we became really interested in where the money was going. We discovered that FareShare was just around the corner, and started volunteering on a regular basis. As partners our funds indirectly support FareShare, and I was curious to do more.
I was aware of the shifts in the economy, with movements in manufacturing and job losses, so this was a story that I could connect to. Food security goes beyond the rough sleepers you see on the streets – there is an invisible crisis unfolding and I felt I wanted to be part of the solution. CaféSmart kind of lead me there.”
It is sometimes overwhelming to think of the scale of the homelessness issue, and what is needed to address it. Drastic government reform, mass investment in social housing stock, radical shifts in how we deal with our food waste – the road ahead is long and hard. But while we wage the war, every day small battles are won in our local communities.
A roaster, a sponsor, a food rescue service, and thousands of lives positively changed. Every one of these good news stories matter, and are worth celebrating.
Single-O on CafeSmart campaign day
The StreetSmart concept began in London when one restaurant owner wanted to help a group of young people rough sleeping near by to her premises. She started to collect donations from her customers, so they could buy bedding and warm clothes. Local people helping local people, the idea was as simple as that.
That one small act of kindness in a local London restaurant evolved into StreetSmart – an organisation powered to crowd source donations from for local impact.
In Australia there are over one hundred thousand people without a safe place to call home. Seeing the potential of StreetSmart to make a dent in that statistic, Adam Robinson founded StreetSmart Australia.
A ReaL MeaL – Melbourne mobile soup kitchen
With such a strong café culture, StreetSmart Australia found a natural alliance with the coffee roasting industry and the neighbourhood café. With their support, one of our major initiatives today is CaféSmart – a single day of fundraising that unites coffee lovers to help end homelessness.
In six short years CaféSmart has raised over six hundred thousand dollars, and supported hundreds of grassroots organisations that are changing lives.
When we take half an hour from our work day to enjoy a cup of coffee, we might not connect a micro business in Rwanda or a women’s shelter in our local area – but boutique coffee roasters are proving that business can do good in lots of unexpected ways.
Dion and Emma of Single-O
Single O are one of the darlings of boutique coffee culture in Sydney, and they are shunning the faceless blends and unfair trading practices to create a premium product with a face, and a story to tell. For Emma and Dion at Single O in Sydney, good coffee and impact go hand in hand –
“It’s in our blueprint to look at the ways we can impact positively. From fair sourcing, to environmental practices – right down to the neighbourhood café – we are constantly exploring ways to have a positive impact.”
When StreetSmart started to branch out from it’s Melbourne base into NSW, Single O where one of our first roasters to jump on board. As their wholesaler customer list has grown, they have mobilised their cafes with them.
With the Single O teams’ support, CaféSmart grants have been able to fund services that support women fleeing domestic violence, and asylum seekers who don’t qualify for the social safety net many of us take for granted.
Five Senses’ story is not too different. Founder Dean Gallagher took a trip to Papua New Guinea that would become a lasting relationship with a growing community there. As the business took off, impacting people positively across the supply chain became part of day-to-day.
Ben Bicknell is a well known face in the coffee community, and is one of the driving forces behind Five Senses’ local impact initiatives.
Ben Bicknell, Five Senses
“From investing in growing communities, through to raising funds for grassroots projects that support the homeless through CaféSmart here in Australia – it’s interesting to keep thinking about how we can coalesce our impact through the supply chain – from the farm gate to the neighbourhood café.”
Although Five Senses are able to mobilise impressive amounts of donations on the day, Ben is keen to do more.
“CaféSmart happens once a year, and the impact from that one day is huge. I want to explore how we can reach more people, and get others engaged around the issue of homelessness.”
The funds mobilised by Five Senses support local programs like Second Bite, which reclaims food that would go to waste and distributes it to community food programs. Five Senses also donate their surplus to the program, because as Ben says, “everyone deserves the joy that a good cup of coffee brings.”
Single O and Five Senses are just two inspiring examples of businesses doing good, and part of StreetSmarts’ growing network of roasters and cafés getting behind local initiatives to end homelessness.
When we look back to that one restaurant owner who wanted to help people in her neighbourhood – it is incredible to think just how far that simple act of kindness travelled, and how many lives it changed.
CaféSmart takes place on August 4 in cafés all across Australia.
To become a CafeSmart Roaster Partner check info here
You can check out participating cafes, and view funded projects on our map here.
We will be publishing this years’ participating locals from mid-June onwards.
All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible
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We acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the unceded lands on which our organisation is located and where we conduct our business. We pay our respects to Elders, past and present. StreetSmart is committed to honouring Indigenous peoples’ unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas and their rich contribution to society.
StreetSmart is an inclusive, respectful, and welcoming workplace that values diversity of expression. We know that members of the LGBTQIA+ community are particularly vulnerable to experiencing homelessness and we partner with organisations that work to support people in need, without discrimination or prejudice.
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