2ND ANNUAL HEARTS FOR THE HOMELESS FUNDRAISER BEGINS FEB. 19 AT LOCAL BIGGBY COFFEE LOCATIONS

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SECOND ANNUAL HEARTS FOR THE HOMELESS FUNDRAISER BEGINS FEB. 19 AT LOCAL BIGGBY COFFEE LOCATIONS

Week-long event will help raise funds, awareness for East Lansing’s Haven House

EAST LANSING, Mich.  Feb. 9, 2012 – BIGGBY COFFEE is raising money for East Lansing’s Haven House, the area’s only family-oriented homeless shelter. The second annual fundraiser will begin on Sunday, Feb. 19 at twenty-three mid-Michigan BIGGBY locations. Customers can “have a heart for the homeless” by purchasing pink, paper hearts for a minimum donation of $1 each. All money raised will benefit Haven House and support their mission to help homeless families develop the skills necessary for them to find permanent housing.

Founded in 1983, Haven House accepts one and two- parent homeless families with children instead of separating each member of the family like most shelters do. Haven House is described as “more than just a bed,” but rather a place where employees of the shelter work with their residents on developing important skills involved in finding permanent housing such as, self-sufficiency, stability, and financial responsibility. Haven House relies on donations to help fund this educational process and to provide their residents with meals and basic necessities like toiletries and school supplies.

“Our goal is to help families find permanent housing within 30 days of entering Haven House,” Angie Mayeaux, the Executive Director of Haven House, said. “By assisting each family in locating necessary resources and by offering different educational programs and activities, we helped more than 150 homeless families, consisting of more than 300 children, find housing last year.”

Each paper heart purchased at the participating BIGGBY COFFEE locations can be personalized and will decorate the store’s walls for the duration of the fundraiser. At the conclusion of last year’s campaign more than $1250 was raised, a mark BIGGBY store owner and spokeswomen, Lori DeYoung, said their goal is to surpass.

“We had great support from the community last year, but we are aiming to go above and beyond that this time,” DeYoung said. “There is an even greater demand this year at Haven House and we want to make the biggest impact possible. We hope this not only raises funds for Haven House but also make people aware of what a great program they offer and all the other ways they can continue to donate after our fundraiser is over.”

For more information on Haven House, please visit: http://www.havenhouseel.org/ or contact Angie Mayeaux at: 517-337-2731

About BIGGBY COFFEE®
East Lansing, Mich.-based BIGGBY® COFFEE opened a single store in March of 1995 based on the founding principle that coffee-lovers and the coffee-curious alike would benefit from a less pretentious approach to the standard gourmet café paradigm. BIGGBY COFFEE introduced connoisseur-worthy drinks with pronounceable names like Teddy Bear and Caramel Marvel, and barista staff surprised guests with simple gestures like free kazoos and bouncy balls for no other reason than to brighten their day. The “Big ‘B’” on the orange background caught on, and today BIGGBY COFFEE has 142 cafes open or under contract across seven states including: Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, South Carolina, Wisconsin and Texas.  For more information, visit www.biggby.com.

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