Haven House web site relaunched 18 March

Today we re-launched Haven House‘s web site (http://www.havenhousetn.org) with an upgraded version of the Joomla! content management system. We’re particularly excited about this launch!

The design of the site is mostly the same as the previous version, with a few minor enhancements, but that’s not what gets us so excited.

What really has us going is that we added a shopping cart.

What does an online shopping cart have to do with domestic violence?

For the first time, Haven House has an online platform to raise money for the shelter and raise awareness in the community in one fell swoop. We’ve started with a few items: an upcoming benefit ride, a car magnet, and awareness bracelets. Best of all, Haven House is offering Café Femenino coffee, with the help of another SheTech and Company client, Vienna Coffee Company.

Coffee?

Yes, coffee.

Every once in a while, a project or idea comes along that truly represents the “everyone wins” model. Café Femenino is one such project, and in this case, benefits the community here at home and the global community.

Let’s start at home

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Café Femenino either through the Haven House web site or through Vienna Coffee Company, directly benefits Haven House. This helps pay operating expenses and other costs associated with both maintaining the shelter and building awareness in the community.

Also, given that Vienna Coffee Company is a local business, the sale of the coffee helps maintain our own economy here at home.

Now let’s expand our view

Women now make up nearly 30% of the coffee growers in the world, while still having far fewer rights than men in their local communities. In response to this inequity, Café Femenino was formed as a coalition to help women growers gain the same rights as their male counterparts. The coalition, which started in Peru, now represents women coffee growers around the world. It has helped build social programs and support networks, aiding these women in their struggles against poverty and abuse.

Now take an even longer view

The coffee grown by Café Femenino producers is not only certified Fair Trade coffee, it is organic. So the communities in which the coffee is grown benefit as economic inequalities are remedied, and organic growing practices help ensure that the environment is cared for, promising a cleaner future for the green earth and its people and–let’s bring it back home–buyers get coffee that is free of damaging and dangerous chemicals.

See? Everybody wins.

The common good

In light of all the news about the economy, the shocking AIG bonuses in particular, we need to remember that ethical decisions are those made with the common good at their center. In his reaction to the AIG scandal, President Obama used the word “ethic”, which very few reporters seem to be picking up. “Ethic” does have a place in economic policy–or it should! It’s the lack of ethic that has gotten us into this pickle.

On a daily basis, in our normal, everyday lives, our community should be at the heart of our decisions. There’s nothing at all wrong with monetary gain; however, “Does it serve the greater good?” should be the question we always pose to ourselves. At top levels, for decades (centuries? millenia?) failed policies have been rationalized with a failed model (sometimes called the “trickle-down” theory). It doesn’t work. It hasn’t worked for a long time, and now it’s falling apart before our eyes. Greed begets greed.

And compassion begets compassion.

Let’s keep compassion at the heart of our decisions.

Learn more

Buy Café Femenino at Haven House’s web site: http://www.havenhousetn.org.

Learn more about the Café Femenino project at their web site: http://www.cafefemenino.com