Coffee for a cause

River Heights’ hottest new coffee pop-up has highly exclusive hours.

The stand at the corner of Waterloo Street and Kingsway is only open once a week from 8:20 to 8:45 a.m. before the baristas have to grab their backpacks and run to school.

Nine-year-old Annie MacDonald has been selling hot beverages to her neighbours every Thursday morning since the beginning of September to raise money for CancerCare Manitoba.

“It’s really sad when people have (cancer), so I wanted to help,” says Annie, who has friends and family members who have been impacted by the disease.

So far, the street corner stand has raised more than $2,000 for the cause and secured sponsorship from coffee companies big and small. It’s also become a hub for meaningful community connections.

On a grey October morning just before 8 a.m., the MacDonald household is buzzing. Parents Jennie and Ted are busy brewing coffee and packing up homemade banana bread while Annie and her younger brother James, 4, gather their school supplies.

“I’m very proud,” says Jennie, who assists behind the scenes. “I don’t have to wake her up in the morning on coffee-stand day; she’s ready to go. We’re having lots of fun.”

The family piles into their minivan for a short drive up the block, where friends and grandparents bearing more baked goods are waiting to help set up.

As word has spread, the operation has grown from a few thermoses to industrial-sized carafes filled with hot chocolate gifted by Tim Hortons and coffee donated by Writers and Rockers Coffee Company, a local business owned by Robert Young.

“With everything going on in the world, these young people are trying to make a difference and I think we need to support them as much as we can,” Young says, adding Writers and Rockers will soon be selling a new coffee blend called Kids Care, with proceeds donated to the fundraiser.

Annie is often joined at the coffee stand by friend Olenka Cardwell, 9, and a rotating cast of neighbourhood kids and classmates.

“I like when it’s really busy and we get to do a lot of things,” Cardwell says in between pouring drinks and making change.

Service is fast and furious, with more than 50 people stopping by during the 25-minute window. The stand is in a prime location between two nearby elementary schools and the baristas let out a squeal of nervous excitement when a gaggle of their teachers file into line.

The cookies, scones and banana bread are complimentary and drinks are priced at $2 a piece, but many people give more. On Thursday, one patron paid their tab with a coffee can full of change totalling $151.10.

Schoolmates Faye and Wade Smith have been regular visitors to the coffee stand over the past month, donating a portion of their allowance in exchange for hot chocolate loaded with rainbow marshmallows. It’s a pretty good deal, according to Faye, who assesses the experience with a thumbs-up.

“We’ve had a number of family members in our school that have done the cancer battle, so this is an amazing thing they’ve done to help support the community,” mom Whitney Smith says.

The coffee stand has had a positive impact on the wider community as well.

While some customers grab a cup and continue on their way, others stick around and chat with their neighbours.

“Seeing everybody get together and talk is just lovely,” says Vic Lee, who’s lived in River Heights for two decades.

“I appreciate the consistency and the effort that’s being put in because community-building is extremely important.”

Annie and her mom hope to keep the coffee stand running until Oct. 30, weather pending, and are already dreaming up plans for another neighbourhood fundraising stand come spring.

“It’s fun to make people happy,” Annie says.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com