By Yousof Hamza
Patrons of StoneFruit Coffee Co. can pat themselves on the back. Thanks to their support and the collaboration of a few local companies, the coffee shop donated more than 1,000 bags of coffee to local healthcare workers.
Their donations averaged 250 bags per week between Thanksgiving and the New Year.
Co-owner of StoneFruit’s Youngstown State University location, Mike Cupp, was proud of the community support.
“One of the biggest things is it’s Youngstown — it’s the community support. They see that we’re giving and they want to come and support us,” he said.
Customers were able to buy bags of coffee for healthcare workers and add personalized messages to them.
Trumbull Regional Medical Center received approximately 150 bags of coffee. A statement from its marketing director, Alexa Polinsky, expressed gratitude for the donations and the support from the community.
“The team has been overwhelmed and humbled by all of the kind gestures from community members and local businesses,” she said.
Amy Reed, director of development for the Salem Regional Medical Center Foundation, said the staff received weekly donations of coffee over four weeks.
“The coffee was a tangible reminder that community members truly appreciate our staff’s faithful fight against the virus,” she said.
John Mercer, senior gift officer at Mercy Health, said workers at St. Elizabeth Youngstown, St. Elizabeth Boardman and St. Joseph Warren hospitals were grateful for the coffee. The community effort, Mercer said, was meaningful to the frontline workers and helped with their stressful jobs.
Josh Langenheim, owner of StoneFruit and chief coffee meister, said he was proud of the Youngstown community and how the initiative kept StoneFruit busy roasting coffee.
“This initiative kept us very busy, but we’re thrilled we were able to donate so many bags to those who’ve done so much for us,” he said.
Langenheim also thanked DeSalvo Construction and Zelina Concrete for large contributions.
StoneFruit partnered with 898 Marketing, White Glove Payroll and Jet Creative for this giveaway.
Jeff Ryznar, president of 898 Marketing, said he was overwhelmed by the support from the community.
“Josh’s team at StoneFruit Coffee delivered more than just coffee to our local hospitals — they delivered hope, gratitude and support to those who selflessly sacrifice for the health of our community during this pandemic,” he said.
Mike Cupp also said they donated to the Rich Center for Autism at YSU earlier in the pandemic.
He added that charity is nothing new for StoneFruit. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, they donated to several places, notably to Friends of Fido.
While StoneFruit isn’t currently running any charity drives, it hopes to host one for YSU’s hackathon, HackYSU, in April.
