Vancouver coffee shop giving day’s profits to typhoon relief
Posted November 18, 2013 8:44 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – People visiting an East Vancouver coffee shop today can feel better about themselves knowing every penny they spend there is going to victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
It’s not the first time Wayne Bertrand, the owner of the Laughing Bean at Hastings and Slocan, has done this kind of thing; he also turned over a day’s worth of profits to help victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010.
He says it’s not enough to just write a cheque and then forget.
“It would be easy… but that would be it. But I have a feeling with this Philippines one that people aren’t truly aware of the massive devastation over there and just how much help they need.”
Bertrand says his loyal repeat customers are quite generous, but he encourages anyone to stop in. “Basically, all you have to do is stop in for your normal coffee, tea, latte, maybe grab an extra muffin… and every single cent that comes into the till will go straight into the Red Cross relief fund.”
He tells us he never thought about his own bottom line.
“[We are doing] well enough, compared to the people in the Philippines right now. I just sort of felt on a personal level, if you’re going to do something, it always helps if it hurts a little bit.”
Bertrand says it’s about raising money and awareness in this case. “Maybe we’re putting it more in people’s faces. Maybe we’ll — in the end — have a little more impact.”
The federal government has promised to match all donations until December 9th.
