Every Cup Strengthens Our Community: How Virgin Hill Coffee Gives Back

When you visit Virgin Hill Coffee, you might come in for a freshly roasted coffee, a pastry, or simply a place to slow down and enjoy a moment in the Eastern Townships. But behind every cup is a business that has always believed in something bigger: that a local business should contribute to the community that supports it.

Since 2005, giving back has been part of how Virgin Hill Coffee does business. Our community involvement takes many shapes, from supporting local organizations and fundraising initiatives to welcoming visitors from across Quebec and creating a place where people can feel included and connected.

Supporting the People Who Make Our Community Strong

One of the most meaningful ways we contribute is through partnerships with organizations that support people in our community.

Our partnership with the Fondation Christian Vachon has raised more than $22,000 through our fundraising coffee. That support has helped more than 100 children begin the school year with essential supplies, clothing, meals, and winter coats.

For us, this is what community giving is about. It is not simply about making a donation and moving on. It is about finding ways for our everyday business to help organizations that are already doing important work across Quebec.

A Coffee That Gives Back

Our coffee supporting the Fondation Christian Vachon is one example, but it is not the only way our coffee program supports community organizations. Our Alzheimer’s Blend helps raise funds for the Société Alzheimer Brome-Missisquoi et Haute-Yamaska, supporting an organization that provides services and resources to people affected by Alzheimer’s disease and their families.

We also created the Gamach Blend to support literacy in our region. For every bag sold, $1 is donated to the Yamaska Literary Council, helping support literacy initiatives in the community.

Each of these coffees gives customers a simple way to participate in something bigger than their individual purchase. They still get the freshly roasted coffee they came for, while their purchase helps support an organization doing important work in our community.

We believe this is one of the easiest ways a business can involve its customers in community initiatives. Rather than simply telling people about the causes we support, we give them an opportunity to participate through something they are already buying and enjoying.

Giving Back Close to Home

Our community partnerships extend beyond fundraising coffees. Over the years, Virgin Hill Coffee has contributed more than $15,000 to the Société de leucémie et lymphome, while also supporting schools, community organizations, and other local initiatives.

Every year, we also bring our Airstream Café to the Expo Brome Fair, where our team spends four days serving coffee and refreshments to fair visitors. Our employees volunteer their time for the event, and the proceeds from those four days are donated to local causes. In the past, the funds have supported local schools and the food bank, while this year's proceeds will be donated to the Fondation Christian Vachon. For us, the Expo Brome Fair is about more than setting up our Airstream and serving coffee. It gives our team an opportunity to take part in one of the region's longstanding community events while helping direct the proceeds toward organizations and causes that matter locally.

We have also made it a priority to recognize the people working in our regional healthcare system. This year, we provided 735 beverages to employees at the Centre hospitalier de Granby as a small gesture of appreciation for the work they do for our community.

These gestures may look different from one another, but they all come from the same belief: a local business should be part of the community around it.

Creating a Place Where Everyone Belongs

Giving back is not only about financial contributions. It is also about creating an environment where people can participate and feel like they belong.

That includes the people who work with us. Leïa, a young woman living with the effects of a brain injury, has become part of the life of our business, supported by a team that has welcomed her into the Virgin Hill Coffee community.

For us, inclusion is not something that exists separately from our day-to-day operations. It is reflected in the people we welcome, the relationships we build, and the way our team participates in the life of our community.

Welcoming Visitors to the Eastern Townships

Community also means contributing to the place where we live and work.

Virgin Hill Coffee welcomes nearly 200,000 visitors each year, with approximately 40% visiting as tourists. For a business located in the Eastern Townships, that means we have an opportunity to introduce visitors to our region while giving them a reason to stop, stay, and experience a local business.

Every visitor who walks through our doors becomes part of the story of our community, whether they are a regular customer from nearby or someone discovering Lac-Brome for the first time.

Our Customers Are Part of the Story

We have never wanted community involvement to feel like a marketing message. Our priority has always been to act first and talk about it afterward.

When a customer chooses a fundraising coffee, visits us while exploring the Eastern Townships, or simply chooses to support a family-owned local business, they become part of the community that makes Virgin Hill Coffee possible. That is why we believe every cup can mean a little more.

Building a Business That Gives Back

Since 2005, our goal has never been to create a separate community initiative that sits alongside our business. We wanted giving back to become part of the way we do business.

There is always more that can be done, but we believe meaningful change comes from making thoughtful choices consistently and finding practical ways for a business to contribute to the people and places around it.

For Virgin Hill Coffee, that means supporting organizations that help children and families, recognizing the people who care for our community, creating opportunities for inclusion, welcoming visitors to the Eastern Townships, and giving our customers opportunities to make a difference through something as simple as choosing their coffee.

Because coffee is more than what is in the cup. It is the people who grow it, roast it, serve it, share it, and the community that grows around it. Every cup is an opportunity to strengthen our community.