ISLE OF WIGHT Co., Va. - Your morning cup of coffee never tasted so good because every pour is helping a local organization thrive.
"Donating is the real foundation of what I'm doing," said Steven Goodwin.
Steven Goodwin owns and operates Rough Start Coffee Co., which has been open since October. As an active duty military member, he has a real heart for giving back.
"I think helping everyone out instead of just helping myself out is a pretty big focus point of my business," he said.
With every online purchase a percentage of his profit goes towards local groups. Currently, he's donating to the Chesapeake Police Foundation, the Virginia Fire Prevention Association, the Virginia Beach Police Foundation, the Virginia Beach Volunteer Water Rescue Team, the Virginia State Police Association Emergency Relief Fund and the Virginia State Fire & EMS Association.
Goodwin is also known for hitting the pavement and physically donating bags of coffee as well. He recently made a drop-off at the Isle of Wight County Sheriff's Office.
"Everyone there seemed to really like it. They love the idea of what I was doing, and they loved the idea that I was donating back and giving back part of what I would be [making]," he said.
Goodwin said he likes to change out who he donates to seasonally, so if you know a group that could benefit from his donations, he encourages you to reach out on social media or send him an email.
He said, "I think coming up in the future I'm going to make it so where people that purchased the coffee can actually select what they want to donate to. That way it's not specific on me; it's specific to who is buying the coffee and what they want to personally donate to."
Whether you need a caffeine kick or not, he said, "I think the biggest thing that people should know is the more we're able to make, the more we're able to donate. So, even if you don't buy a bag of coffee yourself, just a simple share on social media or stuff like that [...] the more we get the more we can donate."
