Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf raises more than $60,000 for charity with its Heroes at Heart

With Ashley Keehne and Kristina Guillen from the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at left, California Fire Foundation Director Elena Ruiz speaks about the help that will be provided to residents through the $31,000 donation from the coffee company at Glendale Fire Station 21 on Tuesday.

By Andy Nguyen

July 16, 2019 3:29 PM PT

Coffee and tea drinkers across the country were able to raise more than $60,000 for charities benefiting first responders this summer as part of a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf campaign.

The Heroes at Heart campaign saw $1 being donated to charity for every specially marked bag of coffee or tea sold by the Los Angeles-based company. The proceeds of the charity were split between the California Fire Foundation and the California Police Officers Memorial Foundation.

On Tuesday a check for approximately $31,000 was presented to the fire foundation at Glendale Fire Station 21. Members of the Glendale Fire Department acted as the public face for the company’s national ad campaign promoting Heroes at Heart.

Glendale Fire Chief Silvio Lanzas said the experience of representing fire service agencies not just in California but across the country was deeply satisfying.

“We’re proud to help highlight the hard work that the men and women across every fire service do each and every day,” he said.

Kristina Guillen, vice president of human resources at Coffee Bean, said the company was thrilled to be able to celebrate the campaign with the fire department.

“It has been one of the most positive promotions we’ve had,” she said. “We’re so pleased to be here and dedicate our time to Heroes at Heart.”

The money raised by the campaign will be used to help fund the fire foundation’s various assistance and education programs, according to its director Elena Ruiz.

One such program is SAVE, which stands for Supplying Aids to Victims of Emergency. It provides temporary financial relief to victims of fires and natural disasters. The money will also be used to help provide aid to firefighters and support the families of fallen firefighters.

“This partnership with the Coffee Bean and with our other partners up and down the street is just hugely impactful for the California Fire Foundation,” Ruiz said.

She added it will also help the foundation’s efforts at teaching underserved communities about fire safety by enabling them to translate and distribute educational materials in other languages.