At GOOD, our mission is simple — we want to use what we do (roasting coffee / making coffee in inspiring spaces) — to create delight for others. We believe in the value of this mission. We also believe that when we pursue our mission in a localized context (the city of Portland) we have the opportunity to invest in a better Portland for all. After spending years using our coffee bars trying to create better ‘feels’ for Portlanders & guests alike, we launched a project directed at supporting organizations who are (in very tangible ways) building a better Portland for all. We call this project COMMON GOOD.

Portland is a great city. We love Portland. We also understand there is much work to be done in closing the gap between now Portland and next Portland — a city created to be more equitable and hospitable for all. COMMON GOOD is a coffee blend project we created to support organizations who are closing the gap between now Portland and next Portland.

When we launched COMMON GOOD the objective was simple:

1. Use the COMMON GOOD packaging experience to tell the story of the great work this organization is doing in our city. As a result, get people connected with this great organization.
2. Donate 20% of the sales of COMMON GOOD to the current organization being highlighted.
   
   

Kairos PDX was the first organization we chose to partner with for COMMON GOOD. Kairos is a K — 5th grade elementary school in North Portland offering boutique level education to families, and children, who may not otherwise have access to this level of education. Oregon ranks 40th out of the 50 states when being measured for the achievement and opportunity gap. With primary education being a defining factor when it comes to the opportunity gap, KAIROS exists to close this gap for the next generation of Portland kids. Founded in 2013 and now serving over 170 students, Kairos provides a multicultural, and critically engaging environment for all involved.

We believe Kairos is raising up a diverse and talented group of Portland’s next leaders, business owners, politicians, public servants and citizens. As a result, we were incredibly excited to partner with Kairos as the organization we rallied around to launch COMMON GOOD.

We visited a class of 3rd graders at Kairos to get some help building the KAIROS COMMON GOOD blend. Our roasting team took the Kairos kids through a fruit, nut, caramel & chocolate tasting. After tasting many of the foods people use to describe the flavors of coffee, we asked the kids what they would like the KAIROS COMMON GOOD blend to taste like. They agreed it should taste like caramel and raspberries! Very much loving their decision, we had our roasting team construct a coffee blend reminiscent of caramel and raspberries.

The KAIROS COMMON GOOD project has been running for quite some time now. Serving, and selling this blend has given our team an amazing space to share the Kairos story with people we encounter in our coffee bars on a daily basis. The project has raised significant funds for Kairos. More important than this, however, we’ve had the opportunity to introduce a significant amount of Portlanders to Kairos’ amazing work. We hope the connection created between Kairos and these Portlanders turns into a lifelong relationship of support and collaboration.

If you want to check out more about Kairos, or get involved — visit http://kairospdx.org

By Alexander Pierpoint