Over the past year, we’ve covered the state of coffee in Ukraine amid the Russian invasion, thanks to the dogged reporting of Yaroslav Druziuk in Kyiv. The stories about specialty coffee coming out of the region feel at once dire and resilient, tragic yet hopeful. And since the February 2022 invasion, we have seen the global coffee community step up, as they so often do, to provide to those in desperate need.
One such company that has continued that effort is Seven Seas Roasting Co. With their non-profit, the Seven Seas Foundation, the San Diego roaster is raising money to help Kyiv’s One Love Coffee from having to shutter permanently.
Fundraising for One Love has been an ongoing effort for Seven Seas. Through their 501c3, they raised a total of $10,000 last year for One Love to help keep their six Ukraine locations afloat during the time of war. This year, Seven Seas has an even more ambitious goal: to raise $75,000 for the beleaguered coffee company. Per the press release, the funds would help cover “operating costs, repair and maintain equipment, facilitate employee salaries, [and] purchase essential supplies.” The money will also help create an SCA-certified training lab lead by Sam Choi, a Q-grader and Seven Seas’ Director of Coffee.
To reach the $75,000 goal, Seven Seas is seeking both individual donations and well as campaign sponsorships from businesses. All donated funds will be remitted to One Love on September 7th, done so in person by the Seven Seas team. Donors will also receive updates on how the funds were spent as well as “specific stories, photos, and videos from Kiev, Ukraine and showing how the funds are being utilized to train, equip, and educate in Kiev.”
For more information about the non-profit or how the funds will go to aid One Love Coffee, visit the Seven Seas Foundation’s official website.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
