Tom Handiside, General Manager of La Marzocco New Zealand, participated in his second Lifewise Big Sleep Out. Lifewise is a charity of New Zealand, that help to shift homeless youth into permanent homes and provide the wraparound support they need to sustain their tenancy.
Annually they hold the Lifewise Big Sleepout, where people from all over the country are encouraged to spend a night on the streets to raise money and awareness to help tackle this growing issue.
This year Tom wasn’t alone. He rounded up Jessica Godfrey from Acme & Co, Al Keating from Coffee Supreme, Henrik Rylev from John Burton Ltd, Olivia Coote from Kokako Coffee and James Nightingale from Allpress Espresso, and together they created ‘Team Coffee’. On Thursday 6 July, the team roughed it out on a wet winter’s evening, putting on filter coffee and espresso during the evening and following morning to all those who participated.
Team Coffee’s fundraising goal was $12,000, and collectively they managed to raise over $16,000 for Lifewise! While it was only one night spent out in the cold, they hope they have made a positive difference to this ongoing issue in our country.