The Black 6 Project & The COVID-19 Pandemic: ‘Mission Driven, Coffee Fueled’
Black 6 Coffee Trading Company
Black 6 Coffee Tradiing Co. began with a simple mission, to help others in need. Their founders are no strangers to the call of duty, and they are using coffee to change the world. More than just coffee, Black 6 Coffee Trading company, a veteran-owned enterprise, was created to fund the Black 6 Project, a nonprofit organization that pulls together resources and a network of medical professionals, veterans, first responders and volunteers to help in areas needing help. The founders are veterans and members of the medical community: Joseph Zoleta and David Guzman are paramedics in NYC, and Francis Faustino is a board certified family practitioner.
After serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, these veterans wanted to find a way to do more and use their training to make a difference - and they’ve gone well above and beyond. Their mission is embodied in active, humanitarian missions throughout the world. Their nonprofit and disaster relief arm and mission, The Black 6 Project, helps areas most in need - traveling across the globe to aid Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria and to remote areas of Mindoro, Philippines to perform medical assessments for tribal communities.
COVID-19 & A Call To Action
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the owners of Black 6 Coffee closed the doors of their cafe in the East Village, to ensure safety and immediately began working to help the efforts to fight the COVID-19 Pandemic. Joe Zoleta is now serving as a paramedic in NYC to help the efforts in the city, having previously worked as a volunteer EMS provider when SARS hit NY.
Black 6 began their current mission knowing all too well the eminent shortages of personal protective equipment, from experience as a volunteer EMS providers. Zoleta didn’t wait to take action, in his words,
“If there's one thing I don't do well, it is sitting still. Not before we closed we've been asked by New York University to help with the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) shortage. So even though we're not serving you a cup of coffee, we're serving society on another front. “
Finding a Solution to an Urgent Health Care Need - Protective Equipment Shortages
Black 6 Coffee Trading Co, is a member of NYU Veteran Future Labs, aimed at supporting veterans starting their businesses in a cohort model. Called upon by NYU, they are currently working on an effort to help with the supply shortages during the COVID-19 Pandemic by using resources offered to them by NYU Future Labs including a MakerSpace, and a Protoshop lab. Here businesses can create prototypes and figure out manufacturing before committing to production, and their non-profit hopes to find a solution to the current PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) shortage.
According to Zoleta,
“The Black 6 Project’s role in this initiative is to find a workforce willing to assemble the different pieces together. Given that most gatherings are forbidden, we plan to do a home drop off of the supplies as well as the pick up of the finished equipment. This is an “all-hands” call to find this battle against the virus. This is a similar call to action that occurred during the World Wars. All citizens and resources are asked to focus on this fight against this disease. The biggest challenge is that we cannot work physically close to each other. It is a challenge, but one that we can overcome. With the majority of the workforce working from home, this can be feasible. New York City’s streets are emptier than ever and this will make transporting the material around, so much easier.
If you are able to help, and live in Nassau County and within the boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, please email us at info@black6project.org with your contact information. Also please follow us on Instagram or Facebook for up to date information on our projects by following @black6project
Although we’re physically separated, we can still fight together.”
How You Can Help
Right now, their company faces challenging times and an uncertain future. That is where anyone can help - by buying coffee! Their coffee bean roastery is still open to shop online. They offer whole bean, french press grind, or drip grind. Being an avid learner of the coffee world, I can say these are high-quality, artisanal coffees. If you are a corporate office, or other business you can buy this coffee for your staff, or send a care package to a loved one. They even have wholesale options.
The founders directly buy their coffees from farmers, taking trips to get to know them and talk to them about local projects and initiatives where they can be useful. You will see below that many their non-profit projects directly resulted from speaking with farmers, sometimes naming the coffee after the particular farm or project.
If you’re not sure which brew to try here I’ve highlighted a few, but check their website for the full details.
SINGLE ORIGIN COFFEES
Café Tío Conejo Black 6 Coffee - Columbian - This washed, single farm, single origin Arabica coffee grown at 6,000-6,500 feet above sea level helps fund Café Tío Conejo farm, giving educational opportunity to local children in the areas of technology, hospitality and English.
Cafe Rafa - Sololoa Guatemala - (limited stock) This shade, grown, eco-friendly organic coffee features sweet cantaloupe and apricot nectar finish, this coffee is washed processed for brightness. The farmer growing this coffee is also the president of the local orphanage, and children from the last war are cared for here - Project 6 hopes to return to help in the effort to restore and rebuild parts of this orphanage as part of a future project.
Guatemala Antigua - This volcanic soil coffee is bright with tangerine citrus, and features a medium body with hints of peach, sweet cherry, apricot and aroma of chocolate.
One Save -Brazilian - Another option is a coffee with notes of brown sugar and green apple, named “One Save.” In the words of the founder, Joe Zoleta, "Getting a "Save" is one of the most satisfying feelings you can have as a paramedic. It's an accumulation of all the hard work you've put into your skills, medical judgement, and scene control that led up to the moment. You're not just saving a life, you're bringing a life back."
They also have a few other single origin coffees available in beautiful black packaging with their bright logo - this packing makes a nice gift.
In addition, their Project 6 store features military-style swag with the Black 6 Project Logo, including military (heavy duty) lanyards, baseball caps, and t-shirts (I am quite picky with baseball hats and these are nicely styled, as in, I’d allow my husband to wear it lol), and these would be a great way to spread their mission to others. My favorite is the shirt that says their tagline, “Mission Driven, Coffee Fueled” and the one pictured here.
If you don’t have a need for any swag, you can also directly donate a micro-donation here
Your purchase will help fund their ethos of using the community of coffee lovers to ‘enable the humanitarian’ in everyone.
Other Intiatives
More recently, Black 6 Project is working on an initiative called “Food for Impact” teaming up with Milk Money Kitchens and Tac N Roll to bring healthy meals to first responders and healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 Pandemic. They are calling on the restaurant industry to volunteer to help with this effort, as well as individuals to donate $10. In their words below,
“The Black 6 Project (our charity arm) has teamed up with Milk Money Kitchens and Tac N Roll to bring healthy, delicious, and fulfilling meals to the frontline. Using our network of restaurants, healthcare providers, and first responders, we are making sure we are helping feed the frontline battle against COVID-19.
We are calling upon the rest of the restaurant industry to take a pledge to help feed the frontline by joining the Food For Impact program. Join us in providing free, at cost, or low-cost pricing to feed our EMT's, Nurses, Doctors and Police Officers working around the clock to save lives and prevent the spread of the virus.
We ask you to donate $10. This amount will help us purchase food and provide delivery to one healthcare worker or first responder working on the frontlines. Our partners took the pledge to use 100% of the donation towards fresh ingredients, labor, and delivery. These will be delivered to different hospitals, EMS stations, police precincts, and fire stations.”
To donate please follow this link "Food For Impact" or add "Food For Impact" in your checkout cart
They are also looking for sponsors to be part of the Food For Impact program.
Platinum Sponsor- $1000 or donate 100 meals
Helps us cook and deliver 100 meals to the frontline
We deliver your message to the frontline with a card delivered with the meals. Your company's logo can be included
6"x6" logo on our delivery vehicle
Gold Sponsor- $500 or donate 50 meals
Same as Platinum Sponsor but 3"x3" logo on our delivery vehicle
In the words of Black 6 founder,
“By sharing our love for coffee with you, we invite you to take the journey with us to the remote villages, the river crossings, and the uncertain trails where people do not have access to good healthcare. That is our mission at the Black 6 Coffee Trading Co., to allow the coffee lover in you the ability to enable the humanitarian in all of us.”
– Joseph Zoleta, New York Paramedic, Founder of Black 6 Coffee Trading Co.
You can share this article on facebook, and add a donation button for The Black 6 Project, simply hit “add donation” button to your Facebook post. If you'd like to participate or sponsor their efforts, please contact them at info@black6project.org
www.black6coffee.org
Miriam Cliffford is a freelance writer and has worked as an educational writer, with articles going viral in innovation in education. She is a native New Yorker, and a graduate of Cornell University with a B.S. in Human Biology, Health and Society. She also holds an MA in Teaching from City University of Seattle and is a veteran’s spouse. She loves to learn about coffee, and share the good things communities in the coffee industry are doing locally and globally. You can find her @thecoffeesenorita and @thecoffeelads on instagram.
www.coffeesenorita.com
