We at Coletti want to see people experience the thrill of making and enjoying great coffee by helping you transition from automatic, drip and otherwise electric methods to more artisan ways – all the while giving all profits to charity. Recently, we have received a lot of questions asking, “What do you mean all profits to charity?” Well, let us explain.
For many years, we had it in our hearts to move oversees and join our friends who are laboring to end physical, social, and spiritual poverty among the world’s poor in the 10/40 window. But we never felt fully released to go.
In August of 2015, a few of these doors of opportunity closed; and as we proceeded this, we realized that we were not the ones called to go. Rather, we were supposed to stay in the U.S. – to continue in the U.S. work force – and “excel in the grace and giving.”
Although we had been giving for some time to support friends serving in places like Malawi, India, Egypt, Jordan and elsewhere, we did not know what we needed to do differently in order to “excel in the grace of giving.” But, one evening in October a friend of ours – we will call her Ana – came to visit. She was working in a Mediterranean nation to rescue girls from the sex trafficking industry. They would escape their captivity and Ana would take them in, loving on them and caring for their physical and emotional needs. At one point in the conversation Ana became a bit emotional as she admitted she did not have the resources to take on any more girls. It was at this moment we decided to do more.
Just a few weeks later, Coletti was born. We took our life savings – and a loan or two – and stepped out in faith. We are thankful to be able to report that today, 100% of our profits – which are modest at this point – go to Ana and initiatives like hers. And we’re excited to be involved in helping. Let us take a moment to tell you what Ana is doing.
Two years ago, she realized that most of the girls she is rescuing were coming from Moldova. What was happening is that they were being aged-out of the orphanage around 15 and then picked up by a trafficker. So Ana has been traveling to Moldova and speaking at orphanages and schools to educate girls (“Hey, that’s not a waitress job...”). This summer she led a camp in Moldova for girls in these orphanages. She and her team educated them on trafficking, taught them life-skills, and helped hundreds realize for the first time that they are treasured and loved daughters of the King.
Ana and her team are now placing these girls – who have to leave the orphanage anywhere from age 14-17 – with families so they can be loved, continue school, and avoid being trafficked.
If you visit the section on our website titled, “Our Mission” you can read a few profiles of ladies Coletti sponsors each month. Let us briefly tell the story of one such girl now.
Valentina is from a small village in southern Moldova. When she was young, she saw her mother taken in the night by traffickers. That was many years ago. She never saw her mother again. Her grandfather had to place her in an orphanage because he felt he could not care for her needs adequately. To deal with the pain of losing his daughter to traffickers and his granddaughter to the orphanage, he turned to alcohol. Valentina has lived most of her life in the orphanage. When she finished ninth grade, she was scared she would have nowhere to go. That is when Ana and her team connected with her. Valentina is now finishing 12th grade and has dreams to study education and one day open her own preschool center. Not a day goes by that she doesn't think about her mother and pray for her. Even when people in her village tell her she will be just like her mom, she doesn't let this sway her dream.
If you sign up for our newsletter, you will receive stories about other projects Coletti sponsors among the world’s poor and learn about ways to get involved yourself.
It is our hope that – with the support of people like you – we will be able to care for hundreds of girls rescued from sex tracking, and provide preventative opportunities for thousands more.
We would rather you give directly in support of some of these great organizations; but a very easy, and real, way to be involved is simply to purchase from us (We think our products are pretty amazing and are confident you will as well).
Please contact us if you have questions or want to collaborate in any way. Together, we can make a difference.
Josh & Katie