Social Impact - Heine Brothers' Coffee

At Heine Brothers,’ we have always been about much more than simply making a profit. From the beginning, we have been committed to treating people and the planet with respect and dignity. From working directly with organic coffee farmers, to recycling every milk jug we use; from partnering to provide clean water in Mexico, to protecting the natural awesome of the Green River here in Kentucky; Impact is one of the core values of our company, and important to all of us at Heine Bros’.

We love roasting coffee and operating coffee shops and we are proud to be making a difference here in Louisville and around the world. At Heine Brothers’ Coffee, we believe we’re doing well by doing what’s right.

2020 Impact Partners:

Volunteers of America is proud to be an accredited, licensed not-for-profit business serving individuals and families who face some of our society’s most complex challenges. Because their mission focuses on the mental, physical and spiritual health of each person they serve, they are planning for a future in which they will broaden their core competency of care management. This person-centered, family-focused, integrated approach to transforming lives leverages the highly professional team that we have attracted to their mission.

From October 1 – December 31, 2020, Heine Brothers’ will donate $1 to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana for every 12oz. bag of Traveler Blend sold.

Additionally, In 2020, Heine Brothers’ will donate the full purchase price ($2) of every burlap coffee bag sold in our stores to Volunteers of America Midstates.

For more info, visit: voamid.org

Spalding University’s Center for Behavioral Health’s specialty clinic, the Collective Care Center (CCC), helps clients who have experienced race-based stress and trauma. The CCC is the only behavioral health clinic of its kind in Louisville – and one of only a few nationally – that specializes in racial trauma. For more information on the Collective Care Center or any services offered at the not-for-profit Center for Behavioral Health, call (502) 792-7011 or visit behavioralhealth.spalding.edu, where there is an online inquiry and appointment form.

From October 1 – December 31, 2020, Heine Brothers’ will donate $1 to the Collective Care Center for every 12oz. bag of Mountain Dream sold.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana (BGCK) is an out-of-school time provider, offering a safe haven for youth who need them. They open their doors and arms to kids ages 6-18, in a safe, positive environment. Inside the Clubs, kids are greeted by name by adult youth professionals in a fun, family atmosphere. They encourage the development of the whole child by focusing on 3 priority outcome areas: Academic Success, Good Character & Citizenship and Healthy Lifestyles. In addition, Boys & Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana operates Kids Cafes in each of its Clubs in partnership with the Dare to Care Food Bank, serving a hot meal every day.

From August 1 – September 30 2020, Heine Brothers’ will donate $1 to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana for every 12oz. bag of Traveler Blend sold.

For more info, visit: bgckyana.org

Change Today, Change Tomorrow is appealing to the needs of the Black community in multiple facets with specific focus on education and community service. CTCT provides access to resources, education, and community engagement to all African Americans in the Greater Louisville area. Launched in September 2019, CTCT has already served over 10,000 marginalized Louisville residents.

From August 1 – September 30 2020, Heine Brothers’ will donate $1 to Change Today, Change Tomorrow for every 12oz. bag of Mountain Dream sold.

For more info, visit: change-today.org

The Forecastle Foundation’s mission is to protect and connect the world’s natural awesome by funding projects that help protect the world’s natural resources with a focus on biodiversity hotspots. Here in Kentucky, the Forecastle Foundation supports three different projects:
– Pine Mountain with Kentucky Natural Lands Trust
– Green River with The Nature Conservancy
– Floyds Fork with the Future Fund Land TrustFrom April 1 – June 30 2020, Heine Brothers’ will donate $1 to the Forecastle Foundation for every 12oz. bag of Traveler Blend sold.For more info, visit: forecastlefoundation.org

Big Brothers Big Sisters believes that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 7 through 16, throughout our community. They develop positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people. Littles are usually impacted by living in single parent homes, growing up in poverty, or coping with parental incarceration or rehabilitation. Children with a Big Brother or Big Sister show real differences in their personal and academic lives. They are more confident in their schoolwork performance, they get along better with their families, and they’re 52% less likely to skip school.

From April 1 – June 30 2020, Heine Brothers’ will donate $1 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana for every 12oz. bag of Mountain Dream sold.

For more info, visit: bbbsky.org

The Louisville Urban League is transforming a 24-acre contaminated lot into a state-of-the-art Sports and Learning Complex with indoor track and field as the anchor use. Thousands will come from across the country to compete and spectate, making this the only project underway in the west end that will bring disposable income into the area. This project will transform not only a neighborhood, but also the human spirit. Construction is underway, and the facility will open in 2021.

From January 1 – March 31 2020, Heine Brothers’ will donate $1 to the Louisville Urban League for every 12oz. bag of Traveler Blend sold to support their Sports & Learning Complex.

For more info, visit: sportsandlearningcomplex.org

St. Joseph Children’s Home remains a top leader in Kentucky for taking care of children and believes that every child deserves safety and love. Our mission is simple: Giving Children a Home. We live that mission every day by providing quality care to the nearly 350 children served annually across St. Joe’s three core programs: residential treatment, therapeutic foster care and adoption, and child development center.

The sad reality is that Kentucky is currently facing an epidemic of child maltreatment with nearly 10,000 children placed in the state’s foster care system. With so many children in need of help, it is up to all of us to keep Kentucky’s children safe from harm. Make a positive impact by investing in St. Joe’s kids today!

From January 1 – March 31 2020, Heine Brothers’ will donate $1 to St. Joseph Children’s Home for every 12oz. bag of Mountain Dream sold.

For more info, visit: sjkids.org

Highland Youth Recreation has partnered with Kentucky Refugee Ministries to give KRM soccer players an opportunity to play HYR soccer free of charge. It is a great opportunity for these newly relocated international families to integrate with the Louisville community and make friends. It is also a great opportunity for HYR players to get to meet and play with often very talented international players.

Heine Brothers’ has partnered with the Louisville City Soccer Club to release a joint tumbler, designed by Nathan Weaver. Heine Brothers’ donates $2 from every HB + LouCityFC Tumbler sold to the program.

For more info, visit: hyrsports.com

The Center for Women and Families provides trauma-informed advocacy and support for individuals, families, and communities affected by intimate partner violence and sexual assault. They mitigate the impact of trauma by building resilience and reducing risk factors at all levels. They are guided by a strong grassroots feminist history, and are committed to social and economic justice. They co-create violence free homes, families, and communities.

Heine Brothers’ baristas support The Center for Women and Families by donating all pennies from their tips to support their mission.

For more info, visit: thecenteronline.org

More announced soon!

Carbon, Climate, and Coffee Projects :

Heine Brothers’ is a founding member of Cooperative Coffees, a fair-trade green coffee buying cooperative that exists to import high-quality, organic green coffee from small-scale farmer organizations to build long-term relationships and foster fair and equitable trading practices. Coop Coffee’s goal is to make coffee growing a sustainable and beneficial endeavor for farmer families and their communities.

Through membership in Coop Coffees, Heine Brothers’ is able to work with coffee farming coops directly, not just on purchasing high-quality organic coffee at above fair-trade prices, but also on sustainability, community projects, cultural exchanges, and transparency.

Heine Brothers’ donates 3¢ for every pound of coffee that we purchase to the Coop Coffees Carbon, Climate, and Coffee Fund – creating opportunities to support small-scale farmers implement regenerative agricultural practices and to act as environmental service providers. In 2019, Heine Brothers’ funds are going to 8 coffee producer cooperatives, working on 8 different projects:

Cool Farm Tool Workshop and Exchange in Peru

with Mejillones (Bolivia), Fondo Paez (Colombia), COMSA (Honduras), CAC Pangoa (Peru), Norandino (Peru), and Sol & Café (Peru).

Cool Farm Tool Workshop and Exchange in Guatemala

with Fondo Paez (Colombia), COMSA (Honduras), Maya Vinic (Mexico), CAC Pangoa (Peru), Norandino (Peru), and Sol & Café (Peru).

Plants with Memory (Energy Reversion)

with COMSA (Honduras).

Climate Change Adaptation Program

with Permata Gayo (Sumatra).

Farmer Field Schools

with Maya Vinic (Mexico).

Coffee Fields: Production and Diversification

with Norandino (Peru).

Reforestation Project

with Norandino (Peru).

Coffee Plot Rehabilitation Through Pruning

with Sol & Café (Peru).

Hometown Heroes:

“The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.”

-Wendell Berry

Wendell Berry is a Kentucky-based novelist, poet, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. A prolific author, he has written many novels, short stories, poems, and essays. The Berry Center – in New Castle, KY – is putting Wendell Berry’s writings to work by advocating for farmers, land conserving communities, and healthy regional economies.

Learn more at berrycenter.org.

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”

-Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali was an American professional boxer and activist from Louisville. He is widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated sports figures of the 20th century. The Muhammad Ali Center – in Downtown Louisville, KY – is a nonprofit museum and multicultural center dedicated to the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali.

Learn more at alicenter.org.

“The meaning of human life lies not in what one individual or generation can achieve, but in the fact that human beings are constantly envisioning and reaching toward something better.”

-Anne Braden

Anne Braden was an American civil rights activist, journalist, and educator dedicated to the cause of racial equality in Louisville and throughout the South. The Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research – a program within the University of Louisville College of Arts and Sciences – was founded to honor the work and legacy of Anne Braden, seeking to advance public understanding of the U.S. civil rights movement, both its powerful history and its unfinished agenda of racial and social justice.

Learn more at louisville.edu/braden.

Sustainability Facts:

Footprints

Heine Brothers’ Coffee has always believed that we should leave as small of a footprint as possible on the planet, and do good whenever possible to make the world a better place.

To-Go Cups

Our hot to-go cups are compostable AND recyclable, and our cold to-go cups are recyclable too! Even our lids are recyclable.

Local Sourcing

Our food comes from local bakers & makers here in the Kentuckiana area – cutting down on transportation pollution & helping the local economy!

Composting

Our spent coffee grounds, tea leaves, and more are collected weekly and composted by the University of Louisville’s Food Waste Composting Project and the city of Louisville!

Coffee Roasting

Our coffee roaster – the Loring Smart Roast – is the most environmentally-friendly roaster on the market. It uses less fuel (and emits less CO2) than any other commercial coffee roaster machine.

Organic Farming

We only source coffee and tea from organic farms – organic farming prevents toxic pesticides from polluting the land, the plant, the farmer, and the consumer.

Raw Sugar

We offer fair-trade, organic, raw sugar on the condiment counters at all of our stores and have done away with paper sugar packets.

Cooperative Coffees

In 2000, Heine Brothers’ Coffee co-founded Cooperative Coffees, the world’s first organic, fair trade coffee purchasing cooperative. We buy directly from cooperatives of farmers in the growing countries. Thanks to our customers, we’re selling lots of fair trade, organic coffee and helping improve the life of coffee farmers all over the world.

Recycling

Every week we go through tons of milk jugs, glass bottles, plastic containers, magazines, office paper, and newspaper here in our shops. We’ve been happily recycling all of that since the 1990′s.

Reusable Mugs

Buy a new or bring in your own reusable mug! When you bring it in you get discounts on drinks with it all year!

Less Waste

Instead of wooden stir sticks that get thrown away, we have reusable metal spoons to stir your coffee on the condiment counter of all of our shops!

Send a Message

If you have any ideas for further steps we can take, please email them to us!