Caffeine boost for Latin American charity

Latin Link receives cheque from Fairtrade and ethical coffee and tea supplier Kingdom Coffee

The £1,800 cheque for Latin Link is a result of donations made by visitors to the Kingdom Coffee stand at the recent Christian Resources Exhibition (CRE), held for the first time at the ExCeL Centre in London.

Tonbridge Baptist Church member Jonathan Leeson (pictured right with Darren Rayner of Kingdom Coffee), Latin Link’s Area Representative for the South of England, manned the stand at CRE and received the cheque on the charity’s behalf. He said: ‘It’s been wonderful to work on the Kingdom Coffee stand again. I had so many conversations with people while handing out cups of excellent Latin American coffee.’

The donations go towards two Latin Link projects – Vive Kids (Colombia) and the Los Guido Community Project (Costa Rica). Vive Kids works in locations affected by violence and extreme poverty on the northern coast of Colombia, training children’s club leaders to run clubs for the children in their communities. The Los Guido project is involved in community development, including English teaching, among the poor and needy in Los Guido shanty town on the edge of San José, Costa Rica.

Darren Rayner, who handed over the cheque on behalf of Kingdom Coffee, commented: ‘Our partnership with Latin Link gets ever stronger. It’s great to be able to make this donation, knowing that the money is going to projects making a real difference in the lives of Latin American individuals, families and communities.’

Latin Link is one of three Christian charities that partners with Kingdom Coffee via its Pura-Vida Fairtrade Plus coffee promotion. Through this, customers purchase 2.5kg of filter coffee for £39.50 and nominate their charity (from a choice of three, of which Latin Link is one). Kingdom Coffee then donates £5 from the sale price to that charity.

Latin Link's members work with local churches, organisations and communities to help them meet the needs around them. Find out more at www.latinlink.org.uk.