Giving Back

The School and Library in Tzanchaj, Atitlán through partnership with Child Aid

In 1999, Jim’s Organic Coffee focused efforts on building a school library in Tzanchaj, Atitlán, Guatemala; just down the slopes from where our coffee is grown. From planning to construction, the project spanned 5 years, and during that time, more funds were donated to improve general classrooms, better sanitation, and build additional learning spaces.

In 2004, the library was complete, but in need of books! Visiting schools in less developed parts of the world, one is struck by the lack of books in classrooms. The schools make do with what they have, but providing more books greatly increases literacy and encourages a love of reading. In Tzanchaj, Jim’s Organic Coffee donated additional funds to stock the library with Spanish children’s books and textbooks, and funded literacy programs, teacher training programs, and librarian training.

The library was an immediate success with the school and community, showing a positive shift in the students’ attitudes toward reading, as well as their grades. One highly successful literacy program that was introduced involved the village elders telling stories. The stories were told in Tsutsuhuil; the Mayan dialect that the children grow up speaking in Tzanchaj. The elders’ stories would then be translated into Spanish, and made into little books — a great program to bring the community together and teach the joys of reading and writing.

In 2018, Jim’s Organic Coffee and Child Aid implemented similar programming at a neighboring school in Panabaj, Guatemala. The four year program included extensive teacher training of the school’s 15 teachers, four literacy book club programs for students, and a total of 1725 books provided to the school, providing a collection of at least 7 books per child in the school by program’s end.

Jim’s Organic Coffee continues to support these schools through our longtime partnership with Child Aid, an incredible organization that focuses on literacy and learning throughout Guatemala. Learn more about this organization here: Child-Aid.Org

The Adame Yirgachefe Schools in Yirgachefe through partnership with Costa Foundation

We donate 10% of the sales from our Holiday Blend to support the school district in Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia. This includes stocking books, buying science equipment, and funding a computer lab. This past year, Jim and his daughter Margo visited the farms of this region and were able to meet the students at the school:

"We’ve had the opportunity to reflect on our visit to the Adame Yirgacheffe High School and incredible reception we received. It really was a joyful experience and showed the effort and enthusiasm that [our charity partners] Costa Foundation and Imagine1Day have given towards the school. We could also really see the happiness in the children as well as the amazing staff." - Jim on the 2025 visit

Educational Supplies in Kesese through partnership with the Costa Foundation

The Costa Foundation is a wonderful charity that aims to help coffee growing communities worldwide by providing opportunities for safe, quality education. Piers Blake, the head of the Costa Foundation, shared these details of our work in Uganda:

“With thanks to Jim’s Organic Coffee’s support, students at Bwesumbu PEAS High School in Uganda now have access to critical science equipment, without which it is almost impossible for them to gain the knowledge needed to pass the large practical element of their science exams.

Bwesumbu High School (in Kasese District in South Eastern Uganda) has continued to grow enrollment since the school launched and there are now 510 students, 218 of whom are girls and 230 board at the school.

The school is located in beautiful surroundings, in the heart of the Rwenzori mountain range. Like most areas in this district, the local population depend heavily on coffee for their livelihoods with many local farmers working to cultivate and process the beans.”

Support for science equipment and educational supplies is vitally important in this very rural area, and we are proud to do our part. We also recognize that education is not just in the classroom, so in 2018 we teamed with Costa Foundation to develop a multi-purpose sports pitch (playing field), to be used for football, netball, and volleyball. Jim’s also donated basic equipment like cones, whistles and nets; sports equipment like footballs and net balls; and sports uniforms, helping bolster physical education programming at the school.

Educational Supplies in Honduras through partnership with the Costa Foundation

We also partnered with the Costa Foundation in Honduras, where they have done incredible work building and developing schools in the region where we buy our coffee.

Honduras is Central America’s poorest country, with 67% of the population living in poverty, and access to education is difficult for children living in rural coffee growing communities. Our funds were directed toward purchasing learning materials and equipment to support afterschool programs.

Click here to learn more about the Costa Foundation: CostaFoundation.com

The Well & Clean Water in Mbeya through partnership with St. John’s Lutheran Church of Columbia, MD

While we no longer purchase coffee from Tanzania (the organic project lost its certification), we are proud to have assisted in bringing clean water to the Good Samaritan Orphanage in the Mbeya region. The Good Samaritan Orphanage is an orphanage for children whose parents have died of HIV/AIDS, a widespread problem in East Africa.

In 2009, Jim paid a visit to the orphanage. At the time, the kids would have to walk or ride their bikes the 2+ miles to get drinkable water. Rev. Dr. Robert M’binda, the head of the orphanage at the time, was a charismatic man who wanted nothing more than to help give the kids there a good life. With Jim, a budget was set for a water survey to be taken. This water survey showed that there were underground streams directly below the orphanage. From here, additional funds to dig a well were raised by Jim’s Organic Coffee and St. John’s Lutheran Church. Thankfully, the well did strike water!

The orphanage now has the well, a holding tank, and clean water — not just for the students of the orphanage, but also for the nearby community.

Please connect with us at Jim's for more information on any of these projects. We are proud to do our part in giving back to these incredible coffee-growing communities.