£100 000 Donation to Toybox

Toybox...

... is a UK charity working with street children in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Toybox started its work in Guatemala City in 1992, we are still there today, working with children who have been plunged into the chaos of living or working on the streets. We believe no child should have to live on the streets and strive for a world in which every child can access their basic human rights and live a happy, fulfilled life. Our vision is of a just world, with no street children. www.toybox.org.uk

Kingdom Coffee

Toybox and Kingdom Coffee have a 12-year partnership and to date Kingdom Coffee have donated over £80,000 to Toybox with a pledge to donate £100,000 in 10 years. Over the last decade I knew that the values, behaviours and ethos of Kingdom Coffee and Toybox were aligned but it was during the global pandemic that it became evident how closely our values are aligned. We were phoning all our corporate partners to see how they were doing during the pandemic and if they needed to reduce their donations – which we completely expected and understood. But the response we got from Darren was, 'we were, like a lot of companies, losing a lot of money, but we just knew we needed to give as much as we could, because if we were suffering, well I just can't imagine what it was like for kids on the street with no homes – with nothing really. So, we dug deep, and we have come out the other side and are grateful we could continue to support Toybox. It was our moral and social duty to do so.' For me this was an exceptional response, which we got from a lot of our corporate supporters, and when you know a company is giving sacrificially to support the street children Toybox works alongside – well I can promise you, it makes us re-double our efforts to make companies like Kingdom Coffee proud of the partnership they have with Toybox.

Knowing that it had been tough to continue to support us during Covid I was intrigued to understand what kept Darren, Jane and the team connected to us. Darren told me that the story and image of a young girl called Ana from Guatemala City was what moved them, actually moving Jane to tears, her young life full of such challenges and predators. The image of Ana sitting on a dirty pavement surround by chaos and dirt drinking a little cup of coffee shouts of abandonment, neglect and disregard. As Darren was telling this story I realised I was there when that photo was taken at La Terminal in Zone 4 in Guatemala City. Ana was sitting drinking her coffee, yes, the children were drinking coffee, on her own in a horrific environment full of violence and aggression, the guilt I felt when I left her to go back to the safety of a hotel and hot shower was overwhelming. A little girl in a place no child should be – no wonder this story gripped, inspired and motivated the team at Kingdom Coffee.

Ana will never know she inspired a partnership which has spanned a decade and changed children's lives, but she did. Thank you Jane, Darren and all the team at Kingdom Coffee – your true partnership is soul nourishing and has ensured a better life for thousands of street children.

Lynne Morris OBE
Toybox CEO