Costa Foundation

This week we are celebrating the first ever UN #internationaldayofplay ! Play is such an important, foundational part of childhood which allows children and young people many opportunities to thrive. Did you know that the right of the child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts is accepted universally and set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child? Play is not a 'nice to have', it is essential for an individual's development and without safe spaces to delight in play, children and young people are less likely to thrive. At the Costa Foundation we recognise the importance of play as an integral and formative part of childhood. Funding the construction of schools is about so much more than just building a space to sit down and learn. It is about creating environments where children have the safety and security to be able to express themselves, get creative, dance, jump, skip, laugh, make believe and explore the world around them through learning and play opportunities. Something that we are proud of and remain wholly committed to, in order to continue our mission of improving the life chances of children and young people within coffee growing communities around the world. #internationaldayofplay2024 📸 Eleazar Cuadros & PEAS

World bicycle day was celebrated across the globe earlier this week, a day which recognises the "uniqueness, longevity and versatility" of the bicycle. Did you know that we have recently funded cycling projects in two Zambian schools with our partners PEAS (Promoting Equality in African Schools)? With the help of World Bicycle Relief and their extensive experience and expertise in mobilising communities in rural regions of the world, we have been able to fund a pilot of the #cyclingforsuccess programme. Students have been able to benefit from the use of new bicycles to make their long journeys across tough rural terrain shorter, easier and safer. Now, rather than a three hour walk, young people are able to cycle to school in around 45 minutes, meaning more time and energy to spend there with their peers to learn and socialise! In January 2023, 240 rugged Buffalo Bikes were given to those who travel more than 3 kilometres to school, with 60% of them allocated to girls. This aim of this programme was to increase student attendance and rates of retention, improve safety, boost self-confidence and provide more time for studying, thereby enhancing learning outcomes over the long term, Similar programmes have seen absenteeism reduce by 28% and girls were 19% less likely to drop out of school. We are already seeing really encouraging results from this programme, something that we are delighted to celebrate!

Tanya Holden PC.dp. (GDPR) @kate O'Brien Mauricio Jaramillo Kate is talking about the Costa Foundation and their work in #latin #america and Mauricio is taking about sustainable #coffee #production from his family farm. Everything is working towards #sustainability support for the #community

An incredible recent trip to Colombia to see projects that we have funded over the years. Our Executive Director Kate puts her experience into words...

Muchísimas gracias a todos a la National Federation of Colombian Coffee Growers por acoger nuestra visita de la Costa Foundation y Costa Coffee en Colombia! Sobre todo a Laura Catalina Guerrero por acompañarnos a las comunidades cafeteras rurales en Cundinamarca para visitar las escuelas y instituciones financiadas por la Fundación. ☕️🇨🇴

We are so excited for this new project with PEAS (Promoting Equality in African Schools) We are always seeking to explore more innovative, sustainable approaches to offering opportunities for safe and quality education, can't wait to see the completed build!

Here at the Costa Foundation, our mission is to improve the life chances of children and young people in coffee growing communities by providing the opportunity of a safe, quality education. Without additional measures, by 2030 84 million children and young people will be out of school. In coffee growing communities, this challenge is furthered by financial pressures, the risks of travelling long distances to schools, and seasonal migration to harvest coffee. Over the last 17 years the Costa Foundation has invested over £20 million, helping to build more than 100 new schools with over 800 classrooms in 10 countries. This has given over 120,000 children and young people better access to education in coffee-growing communities across the world, and this is just the start. This has been raised thanks to the incredible efforts of team members, customers and partners of Costa Coffee around the world.  Read the stories of people we have been able to help and projects we've undertaken thanks to your donations on our website. If you'd like to know more or get involved then please get in touch, we'd love to hear from you.

We wanted to say a massive thank you to all the brilliant Costa Coffee team members who came to Newcastle last Tuesday and London last month for our Costa Foundation Champions workshops. It was great to meet so many Champions for the Costa Foundation, raising funds in Costa Coffee stores to help #ChangeAChildsLifeStory. We couldn’t do it without your help! If you are a customer in a Costa Coffee store, make sure to look out for our Costa Foundation Champions badges and ask them about the Costa Foundation. If you want to read more about our mission to improve the life chances of children and young people in coffee growing communities, head to our website to read about the inspiring work the Costa Foundation supports. #ChangeAChildsLifeStory #Educationforall #CostaFoundation #CostaChampions

Recently our Executive Director Kate O'Brien O’Brien and John English (Community Manager, Costa Coffee) travelled to Honduras to see all the amazing work that the Costa Foundation has achieved in coffee-growing communities in partnership with Plan International UK and Plan International Honduras. Many rural communities in Honduras face the reality of the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Central America, driven by high levels of sexual violence. In some of the communities Kate and John visited, around 25% of girls had two babies by the time they were 15. Meaning many of these girls struggle for a fair chance at education. It was great to see the work the team at Plan International Honduras is doing to support these communities, such as workshops with parents, carers, children, and teachers. All to raise awareness of sexual violence, how to report abuse and increase access to education. Thank you to all the Costa Coffee store teams and customers for raising the money to enable us to fund this valuable work. #ChangeAChildsLifeStory #Educationforall #CostaFoundation