Are you looking for a simple way to spread some holiday joy?  If so, you might want to enjoy a free cup of coffee or tea from Peet’s Coffee & Tea chain while making a donation to the charity of your choice.

Participating in a Charitable Event

Tomorrow, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Peet’s Coffee & Tea chain will be serving free coffee and tea to its customers in celebration of Christmas Eve.  The chain will also be accepting donations from its customers, who can choose which one of a number of different charities they would like their donation to support. The Peet’s located at 2712 Pinole Valley Road in Pinole, California, for example, will be collecting donations for San Pablo’s Meals on Wheels organization, which delivers food to approximately 350 people in the area.  The Peet’s located at 9895 San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito, on the other hand, will be making its donations to Familias Unidas, which is an organization that provides mental health and counseling services to local residents

To make the event even more exciting and meaningful, the chain will be matching up to $1,000 in donations at each of its sites.  So, every dollar you donate is essentially like donating two dollars to your favorite charities.

Making a Difference with Coffee

Even the smallest of donations goes a long way toward helping others – particularly when that donation is being matched by a company such as Peet’s.

“It means a great deal,” Dolores Morales, who is the coordinator for Meals on Wheels in the Crocket/Port Costa area in California told the Contra Costa Times.  “There are a lot of people who are not able to contribute to the meals itself, and the program pays for their meals.  Any donation like this means we’re able to cover the cost.  So many people in West County can’t afford the minimum $2 for their meal, so these types of efforts are needed.  Otherwise, it comes out of our budget, and that means we can’t help as many people as we’d like.  It’s getting harder and harder, especially with the economy so bad, so it’s nice to get these types of donations.”

Although matching $1,000 per location may not seem like a whole lot of money, the event has actually been quite successful at raising a large amount of money in the past.  In fact, the event raised $250,000 last year for a variety of different charities.

“Even in hard economic times, we’ve maintained a strong customer interest in our organization,” Kyle Stewart, who is the manager of the Peet’s in El Cerrito, told the Contra Costa Times. 

So, if you live near a Peet’s Coffee & Tea coffeehouse, you might want to consider stopping by tomorrow and helping the chain spread its Christmas joy!  Not only is it a great opportunity to enjoy a tasty hot free cup of gourmet coffee, it will also provide you with the perfect way to provide a lending hand to those who need it most.

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