ME to WE Partners with Van Houtte Coffee Services to launch ME to WE Coffee That Changes Lives™, Empowering Women and Families in Developing Communities with Life-Changing Opportunities

TORONTO, May 30, 2019 /CNW/ - Today, ME to WE, an award-winning social enterprise that creates socially conscious products, in partnership with Van Houtte Coffee Services announced the launch of a new range of premium coffee products that help empower women and their families in developing communities across Africa, Latin America, Asia to help lift themselves and their families out of poverty. Van Houtte Coffee Services, Canada's leader in coffee service, is the exclusive commercial distributor for ME to WE Coffee That Changes Lives™. The new coffee is made with 100 per cent high-quality coffee beans, ethically sourced from cooperatives in the world's premier coffee growing regions throughout Africa and Latin America.

Made with Fairtrade Certified, sustainably sourced beans, every cup of ME to WE Coffee That Changes Lives™ helps create additional positive impact in partnership with ME to WE's charitable partner, WE Charity. Through the charity's holistic development model, communities are empowered to break the cycle of poverty and achieve sustainable change. Ethically sourced from countries in which WE Charity operates, ME to WE Coffee That Changes Lives™ will empower women in these communities with financial opportunity, helping them to create lasting positive impact for themselves, their families and greater community. It is well known that a successful approach to development includes investing in women to create long-term social and economic benefits for all.

"Van Houtte Coffee Services is truly proud of partnering with ME to WE to help improve the livelihoods of women in these coffee communities. As a Keurig Canada Inc. subsidiary, operating as Keurig Dr Pepper Canada, we are committed to doing more than what's expected of us, and we work to integrate social responsibility into all aspects of our business," says Chris McMahon, Vice-President, General Manager, Van Houtte Coffee Services Inc . "It really is engrained in everything we do - from source to cup. Whether it's our commitment to improving the lives of coffee farmers or our care for the earth and the communities we operate in, we constantly strive to make the world a better place," adds Stéphane Glorieux, President of Keurig Dr Pepper Canada. "Our organisation is committed to sourcing 100% of responsibly sourced coffee by 2020. To do so, we partner with organizations that share our vision. Our collaboration with ME to WE is that perfect example; because together we can accomplish more and have a greater impact."

From bean to cup and back again, Van Houtte Coffee Services customers can use Track Your Impact, ME to WE's tool that allows customers to track and learn where and how the products they purchase support positive impact. With every cup of ME to WE Coffee That Changes Lives™, customers can use Track Your Impact to see how their morning cup of coffee is helping to provide life-changing impact to women and their families in WE Charity communities. Visit www.TYI.org/coffee for details.

WE Charity's holistic and sustainable international development program focuses on five key areas to create lasting change—Education, Water, Health, Opportunity and Food. ME to WE Coffee That Changes Lives™ directly benefits the Opportunity pillar, providing women with the training and support they need to increase their income-generating skills. These financial literacy skills are then passed on to friends and children, ensuring long-term, sustainable solutions to a household's and a community's economic challenges.

"I believe that every woman, when given the tools she needs, has the power to change the world, which is why I am so thrilled about ME to WE's new partnership with Van Houtte Coffee Services," said Roxanne Joyal, CEO of ME to WE. "Simply by enjoying their morning cup of coffee, people will help improve the lives of women, their families and their communities overseas through economic opportunity."

Through this partnership, businesses across Canada can now enjoy socially conscious Fairtrade Certified coffee: from bean to cup, ME to WE Coffee That Changes Lives™ contributes to environmental sustainability and supports ethical supply chain management. Certified Fairtrade by Fairtrade Canada, ME to WE Coffee that Changes Lives™, supports development of thriving farmer and worker communities by giving them more control over their futures and protecting the environment in which they live. ME to WE Coffee That Changes Lives™ is available in medium and dark roast blends.

"ME to WE demonstrates a true commitment to deepening their social impact in the communities where they work by building strong, lasting partnerships with women and families in marginalized communities," says Julie Francoeur, Executive Director at Fairtrade Canada. "As a pioneer business offering Fairtrade Certified coffee for almost 20 years, this partnership reflects a natural expansion of Van Houtte®'s sustainability work that further enshrines their commitment to fair and sustainable business practices. We are delighted to join forces with the movement developed by ME to WE and continue to support strong business leaders in their commitment to fair terms of trade.

The addition of ME to WE Coffee That Changes Lives™ will further expand Van Houtte Coffee Services' offerings to their existing and new out-of-home customers across Canada, giving them the opportunity to do good with their daily cup of coffee.

ME to WE Coffee That Changes Lives™ is available across Canada via Van Houtte Coffee Services.

ABOUT ME to WE 
ME to WE is part of WE—a family of organizations making doing good, doable. WE is made up of WE Charity, empowering domestic and international change, ME to WE, a social enterprise that creates socially conscious products and experiences to help support the charity, and WE Day, filling stadiums around the world with the greatest celebration of social good. WE enables youth and families to better the world – supporting 2,500+ local and global causes by volunteering millions of hours of service, shopping daily with an impact, and raising millions of dollars that directly benefit their local communities and the world. Globally, our teams in Asia, Africa, and Latin America have provided more than 1 million people with clean water, built 1,500 schools and schoolrooms overseas, and empowered more than 200,000 children with access to education. WE was founded more than 20 years ago by social entrepreneurs, brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger. Join the movement today at WE.org.

ABOUT VAN HOUTTE COFFEE SERVICES
Van Houtte Coffee Services Inc. is Canada's leading commercial coffee services provider. It offers innovative beverage services tailored to each specific industry sector through worry-free maintenance and delivery services, paired with a broad range of premium coffees, teas and other beverages in a variety of formats, and high-performance reliable multi-feature brewers, including Keurig® single-serve and bean-to-cup coffee makers.  The organization is dedicated to offering local and regional businesses, national corporations and foodservice providers alike diversified solutions that meet their needs. Its national standing is rooted in its local presence, allowing it to serve hotels, universities and colleges, healthcare institutions, restaurants, gas stations and convenience stores with all the benefits of a large corporation while giving them the personalized service of a smaller provider. From its 31 service branches located strategically across the country, it serves over one million cups of coffee every day through over 40,000 business customers. Van Houtte Coffee Services Inc. is a Keurig Canada Inc. subsidiary, operating as Keurig Dr Pepper Canada, whose head office and roasting plant are located in Montreal. As part of the Keurig Dr Pepper family, Van Houtte Coffee Services Inc. is also a recognized leader in sustainability thanks to its various programs supporting local and global communities and responsible sourcing, as well as its initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of its operations. Its heritage is a unique combination of the Van Houtte® brand coffee roasting traditions since 1919 and revolutionary technologies, making it a complete coffee solution that is unmatched by any other. To learn more about the company, visit www.vhcoffeeservices.com.

SOURCE WE Charity

For more information, or images, please contact: Vanessa Morcom, Consultant, Public Relations, ME to WE, 647-407-4570, [email protected]; Cynthia Shanks, Director, Communications & Sustainability, Keurig Canada Inc., a Keurig Dr Pepper Canada company, 514-789-4535, [email protected]