Four young Hamiltonians are having a global impact on disability rights

The Lucy Foundation, a local social enterprise creating an inclusive supply chain of coffee from seed to cup. The Lucy Foundation works with coffee-farming families affected by disability to create ethical and sustainable coffee for the New Zealand market.

Four young people from Hamilton started The Lucy Foundation in 2013 to empower people with disabilities through trade. Now, the charity works with coffee-farming families, with and without members with disabilities, to produce coffee for New Zealanders. The coffee is roasted and sold in New Zealand.

Robbie Francis, co-founder and director of The Lucy Foundation, was born in Hamilton and is a strong advocate for disability rights. She has been nominated for the 2017 Attitude Entrepreneur of the Year award. Robbie Francis, Ben Scott, Simone Haylett-Petty and Jessica Pantoja-Sanders (all from Hamilton) founded The Lucy Foundation in 2014 to empower people with disabilities through trade following Robbie's role as a disability rights monitor in Mexico.

Jessica Pantoja-Sanders, along with her husband and two children, are now based in Pluma Hidalgo working with indigenous families affected by disability to create ethical, sustainable and inclusive coffee for New Zealanders.

The Lucy Foundation has launched a PledgeMe campaign, which finishes on Sunday 22 October 2017, for $20,000. All of the money from this crowdfunding campaign will be used to expand their operation in Mexico and import more coffee to New Zealand and establish an inclusive, accessible coffee supply chain.

Robbie was at the Ethical Enterprise Conference in Melbourne earlier this week talking about Tapping the Talent: Inclusion, accessibility and diversity, where she discussed that in NZ disabled people earn $200 less a week than non disabled people and 42% of young disabled New Zealanders are not in any kind of work, training or education.

The Lucy Foundation is building a supply chain through coffee that encourages employment of disabled people, highlights their abilities and empowers them in their daily lives to be an active part of the community.

http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1710/The_Lucy_Foundation__Inclusive_and_Accessible_Coffee.pdf

ends

© Scoop Media