The manager of a Costa Coffee drive through in Plympton has spent five days in Vietnam in recognition of her fundraising efforts through the Costa Foundation.
Dawn Cave, manager of the drive through in Gateway Retail Park off Plymouth Road, was one of 12 Costa Coffee team members from across the country who were chose to visit and experience the work done by the Costa Foundation in Vietnam to help support and educate coffee growing communities.
Dawn, 51, has been working for Costa Coffee for the past six years and is a passionate fundraiser for the Costa Foundation. She was recognised on behalf of her amazing team, who were the highest fundraising Costa Coffee store in 2022.
Collectively the store helped raise over £18,000 for the charity through climbing Snowdon, doing a sponsored ten-mile walk, to in-store fundraising with dress-up days, raffles and selling arts and crafts. Handpicked out of thousands of Costa Coffee team members, Dawn was recognised for the once in a lifetime opportunity.
During the five day visit to Vietnam Dawn and the group visited nursery schools in the Wake Lak province of Vietnam, meeting children, parents and teachers at schools that have been built by the Costa Foundation over the past five years.
The group also attended the opening ceremonies of some of the newest schools to be built by the Costa Foundation across Vietnam. The visits highlighted the difference that the charity is making to improve access to education for children across coffee growing regions.
Speaking about the trip, Dawn said:
“Visiting Vietnam and seeing the amazing work of the Costa Foundation and meeting the children was an incredible experience. I feel truly privileged to have been chosen for this trip and to be able to see how our hard work over the years is helping children in Vietnam.
“I am proud to support the Costa Foundation which is making a positive contribution to coffee growing communities globally and this visit has inspired me to fundraise even more! From the trip to Vietnam, I have learnt that not every child has the same access to education that we may take for granted, and this needs to change. I am more motivated than ever to continue to raise money for the Costa Foundation to help all children have a fair chance at life by accessing the education they need to learn and grow.”
The Costa Foundation was established in 2007, with the aim of improving the life chances of children in coffee growing communities by helping them access a safe, quality education. In Vietnam, children need to be able to speak Kinh, Vietnam’s national language, to access primary education. The Costa Foundation funds nursery schools in these remote areas to ensure children can learn Kinh from an early age and benefit from full schooling.
Over the last 16 years the Costa Foundation has supported 24 nursery schools in Vietnam, with a 100 percent record of accomplishment of children leaving with the ability to speak Kinh.
In 2022 alone, they completed five new schools and ten schools’ expansions, with six new schools under construction across the world’s coffee growing regions. Additionally, two new programmes of work also started in Zambia and Ethiopia. For 2023, seven new schools are planned to be completed across Ethiopia, Colombia, and Peru, whilst adding extra facilities and expanding six schools across Uganda, Zambia, and Ethiopia.
John English, community manager at Costa Coffee, who also took part in the special visit said:
“The Costa Foundation exists to help provide a safe and quality education for children in coffee growing communities. An amazing total of £1.2 million was raised for the charity in 2022, which was made up of a combination of corporate donations, donations from product sales, and in-store fundraising activities – such as Dawn’s.
“We are honoured to have been able to acknowledge the achievements and hard work of our twelve Costa Coffee’s team members by taking them on an unforgettable trip to Vietnam, where they saw first-hand the difference that they, their stores and their communities are making.”
