Green Mountain Cafe – The Green Mountain Coffee Blog

It shouldn’t surprise long-time Green Mountain Café readers to hear that we love it when Green Mountain Coffee fans send fun pictures and stories to share with us.  Whether it’s an unconventional coffee cake, a mall photo shoot, or a frog making itself at home in our Green Mountain coffee cups, few things makes us (and, hopefully, you) smile more than to see how these things come about.

…and, yes, you read that last item correctly: A cute little frog in a coffee cup planter.

Allow me to introduce Alex, Green Mountain Coffee fan and blooming organic gardener, who snapped a shot of this little fellow in a coffee-cup planter one day. Here is Alex’s froggy story:

I have a small porch garden outside of my apartment and I recently began growing tomatoes, herbs, and a few other plants here and there. I was starting some cuttings and seedlings on the porch right around Earth Day trying to get my fiancé involved with our organic garden. Like usual, I stopped on my way home from work to get some of your coffee and thought to myself, “What a good idea it would be to recycle coffee cups and reuse them as planters”. The frog seems to love the cool moist soil during the hot summer days down here in Florida. After seeing this frog in the cup, I decided to snap a picture with my phone just because I thought it was neat. Then I got to thinking about what Green Mountain Coffee does to support sustainability and eco-friendly living. So, I checked out the website and thought that my picture might be a good fit in representing those same ideas. The frog comes back every couple of days and hunts the bugs at night. A great addition, to say the least.

Thanks to Alex for sending us this great picture!  Here’s hoping your garden will be buzzing with friendly creatures to help your vegetables grow!

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The Bonnaroo Carbon Shredders are back at it again!  For the past three years, Green Mountain Coffee folks have trekked from Vermont to Manchester, Tennessee to teach music lovers at the Bonnaroo Music Festival how to reduce their Carbon Footprints.  We’re here again this year with support from Gardener’s Supply and Seventh Generation, which makes for a killer combination at Bonnaroo.

The Carbon Shredders started off with a muddy beginning yesterday due to the torrential Tennessee rain that night. Luckily, we had a beautiful day yesterday for the general gates to open. We’ve got a great group of people to help start the shred-olution this year! What a way to use your CAFE Time!

Our main focus this year is around promoting small behavioral changes that make an impact on energy use. Line drying your clothes on a clothesline is one way we’re showing people how to save money and energy. Gardening cuts your energy use and brings back the connection to your local food systems.

This is only the first day but we’ve talked to over 200 Bonnaroovians about Carbon Shredders!  Can’t wait to see what the next few days bring.

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Today, we’re announcing the finalists for our Revelation to Action ^SM Your Place. Your Idea. Your Change.^SM Competition. We’ve had over 350 entries submitted to www.Changemakers.com/Revelation with ideas to strengthen and engage communities across New England and New York.

Can’t see the embed?  View it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eegrqNKWXkQ

After weeks of evaluating hundreds of entries, the judges selected the following fifteen finalists for their innovation, social impact, and sustainability:

-          AS220, Rhode Island

-          Committee on Temporary Shelter, Vermont

-          Entrepreneurship 101, Massachusetts

-          Green Worker Cooperatives, New York

-          Hammond Street Senior Center, Maine

-          Hollaback!, New York

-          Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, Maine

-          Midtown Community Court (a project of the Fund for the City of New York/Center for Court Innovation), New York

-          Peace First (formerly Peace Games), Massachusetts

-          Project Enterprise, New York

-          Red Tomato, Massachusetts

-          Jr. Iron Chef, Shelburne Farms, Vermont

-          The Capital Good Fund, Rhode Island

-          Vermont Food Education Every Day (VT FEED), Shelburne Farms, Vermont

-          Yestermorrow Design/Build School, Vermont

Now it’s time to vote! Between June 9 and June 30, you have the opportunity to vote for the best entries at www.Changemakers.com/Revelation. The three finalists with the most votes will be selected as Competition Winners. Additionally, Green Mountain Coffee will select seven State Winners — one from each of the participating states. The ten winners will each be awarded $5,000 towards their innovation. So, head over to www.Changemakers.com/Revelation and vote!

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Volunteerism is at the heart of our Corporate Social Responsibility programs. Every full-time employee can take up to 52-hours of paid time-off to volunteer for an organization they feel passionate about (read more about our Workplace Volunteerism).

A company tradition in Vermont has been to cleanup one of the nearby rivers as part of American River’s National River Cleanup. In Vermont we’ve been organizing a company-wide River Cleanup since 2005. As we’ve become a national company, expanding to locations in Tennessee and Washington, we want to continue our long tradition of volunteerism.

In early April, employees from our Knoxville, TN facility organized and participated in their own River Cleanup. In total, 21 Green Mountain employees scoured the river banks and river bottom, removing approximately 1500 lbs of trash from the Tennessee River.

Although most of the trash included food containers or drink bottles, there were, as with past Cleanups, some interesting items pulled out of the river. Among the items retrieved were car hoods, bicycles, commodes, and fuel tanks.

Volunteer events not only benefit the communities we work in but also provide fun and team building. It’s just one part of what makes this company a great place to work!

Have you helped cleanup a river in your area? Where and what interesting items were pulled out of the river?

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Today, the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend, is probably one of the most difficult days for me in the office. All I can think about is the upcoming fun of the long holiday weekend; the barbecues, first (chilly) dip in the lake, and of course the parades. The

Troops at The Mudhouse, Camp Taji, Iraq

main reason we’re gathering though is to reunite with friends, loved-ones, and American traditions. Traditions that we all enjoy because of the great country we live in. Our soldiers played and play an important part in that tradition.

Memorial Day is a day when Americans pay tribute to those who have died in service and those that serve today. I know I will be cheering on my 90-year-old great-uncle tomorrow as he walks with the rest of the Veterans and thinking about those that are not there to march.

Here at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters we too honor our soldiers. As I’m sure many of you have heard from service men and women is the importance of coffee while in the field; especially good coffee. It is a comfort from home and a small luxury while on duty.

That is why we donate thousands of pounds of coffee to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan every year. We work with a great organization called Holy Joe’s Café, that provides coffee in a café setting at bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers can go to the cafés for spiritual guidance from the Chaplains, listen to music on open mic nights, or just enjoy a great cup of Green Mountain Coffee’s Dark Magic.

Thank you from Troops in Baghdad, Iraq

When our very own Vermont National Guard deployed to Afghanistan late last year, we knew that the comforts from Vermont that they would miss would include maple syrup and Green Mountain Coffee. Again, working with Holy Joe’s Café, every Vermont National Guard Chaplain has received coffee which will find its way into the hands of the Green Mountain Boys.

Thank you Holy Joe’s for helping us make an impact in our soldiers’ lives as they make a sacrifice for us. For updates from Holy Joe’s you can follow them on Twitter.

How are you honoring our military woman and men this weekend? Have you sent Green Mountain Coffee or other comforts from home to those serving in the military?

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Tonight at 6:30 pm hundreds of Vermonters will descend on the Doubletree Hotel in South Burlington to comb clothing racks full of fashionable clothes and accessories.

The Clothes Exchange 2009

The clothes, some new and some used, are highly coveted items from brands such as J.Crew, Isis, Lole, and Eileen Fisher (just to name a few). What is different about this shopping extravaganza though is that The Clothes Exchange “…collects and sells thousands of new garments, in addition to pre-loved, high quality woman’s clothing and accessories”, then donates all the proceeds to a select beneficiary.

Last year the Exchange raised $55,000 for Vermont Works for Women, an organization that helps women recognize their potential that leads to economic excellence. This year the King Street Center will benefit from all the money that folks drop on these fabulous clothes. The Center “…is a not-for-profit community organization that provides children and families the core life-building skills necessary for a healthy and productive future”. Some examples of these programs include a Head-Start Pre-School, an Afterschool Excellence program with field trips to places such as Shelburne Museum and ECHO Lake Aquarium.

Another great aspect of this organization is their focus not only on early childhood, but also through their teen years. Walking in front of the Center you will always see groups of teens hanging out in a safe space, playing foosball, working on homework or just listening to music. To read more about the programs click here.
Tonight, in addition to the great clothes, attendees with be able to sample our new Brew Over Ice™ Perfect Iced Teas™, including the newly released Half and Half and Southern Sweet K-Cups. I’ll have my serious shopper hat on, with an iced tea in hand!

So if you’re in the Burlington area, stop by for some great shopping and good times. If not, you can donate directly to the King Street Center or The Clothes Exchange – details can be found on either of their websites.

You can find both the Clothes Exchange and The King Street Center on Facebook and Twitter:

The Clothes Exchange: Facebook and Twitter

The King Street Center: Facebook and Twitter

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Three years after a devastating tornado leveled the town on May 4, 2007, destroying 95% of the homes and leaving a

Greensburg Wind Farm (courtesy of NativeEnergy)

path of destruction 2 miles wide, Greensburg, Kansas continues to rebuild stronger and more environmentally sustainable than ever. On April 30^th, 2010 Greensburg Mayor Bob Dixon accepted a plaque on the steps of the newly rebuilt City Hall, officially recognizing the environmental benefits from the Greensburg Wind Farm and recognizing the thousands of business and individual supporters from around the country.

Our VP of Corporate Social Responsibility, Michael Dupee, was there to celebrate the dedication. Since 2003, we’ve offset our carbon use through NativeEnergy, a Vermont-based leader in the US carbon market. We have committed to purchasing more than half of the carbon offsets anticipated from the wind farm through NativeEnergy. By offsetting our carbon use we invest in renewable energy and in this case in the Greensburg communities’ green future. It is an inspiring story about the strength and dedication of the Greensburg community and we are glad to be a part of that story!

You can also read the two part blog serious from NativeEnergy on their blog as well as their beautiful shots of the Wind Farm itself on Flickr.

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