Kuppa Cares volunteers recently returned from a service trip to Guatemala, where they taught coffee classes and connected with local farmers. Photo via Kuppa Cares

Kuppa Joy’s nonprofit arm recently returned from its second service trip to Guatemala, where volunteers taught coffee classes and built relationships with the farmers who grow the beans served daily at the local coffee company’s Central Valley locations.

The trip represents the international expansion of Kuppa Cares, a ministry that started much closer to home — with cups of coffee shared at Poverello House.

“It’s about community here in the Central Valley and community in the countries that grow the coffee beans we serve every day,” said McKenna Gilman, director of Kuppa Cares.

The nonprofit, launched around three years ago, formalizes years of relationship-based outreach rooted in founder and CEO Zack Follett’s original vision when he started Kuppa Joy 13 years ago.

Follett, a former NFL linebacker for the Detroit Lions who retired at 23, founded the coffee company after a missions trip to England sparked the vision of using coffee to connect people and share his faith.

“Kuppa Cares was born after witnessing how something as simple as a cup of coffee could be used to share the love of Christ with those experiencing hopelessness in our community,” Follett said in statement. “Seeing how that love transforms a person’s life made me want to invest more in that mission. I once believed giving back was something reserved for later in life, but there was no time to wait.”

Every Thursday morning, volunteers serve coffee and build relationships with individuals experiencing homelessness at Poverello House. Volunteers range from community members to baristas and law enforcement.

In Guatemala, the work focuses on coffee education and community support alongside local ministries.

“When you drink a cup of coffee, you’re rarely thinking about the person on the side of a volcano working long hours for dollars,” Gilman said. “When you sit across from them and share a meal, it changes how you understand the craft and the people behind it.”

Kuppa Cares operates under the umbrella of Kuppa Joy, allowing donations to go directly toward ministry efforts both locally and internationally.

For information about donations or volunteer opportunities, visit the Kuppa Cares page at the Kuppa Joy website.