Cooper’s Coffee director completes Cuban charity trek
Dec 11 2010 by Henryk Zientek, Huddersfield Daily Examiner
A COMPANY director has completed a gruelling trek through Cuba to raise £4,600 for charity.
Jacqueline Cooper, operations director at Bradley-based Cooper’s Coffee, undertook a 75km expedition across the coffee and fruit plantations in the Escambray Mountains, Cuba’s second largest range.
Jacqueline originally set out to raise £3,000 for Breast Cancer Campaign – and said she was delighted to have beaten her original target by more than 50%.
In a bid to raise the funds for the trip, Jacqueline undertook various activities including an event at home where her businesswomen friends were invited to set up pitches for £10 and donate 10% of all proceeds towards the trek.
The event raised £800 in total and was such a success that Jacqui has been asked to repeat it next year.
A charity squash event, which raised £120, took place at Lockwood squash club with all players wearing pink outfits.
Jacqueline also created a special blend of coffee which was sold through Cooper’s Coffee. In total, 116 cases were sold – and with a minimum donation of £5 requested for each case sold – the special blend raised £580 overall.
The rest was donated by friends, family and Cooper’s customers.
The trek that Jacqueline undertook was organised by Charity Challenge which operates trekking challenges all over the world.
The company was responsible for organising the trekking challenge to Machu Picchu in Peru this September for Denise Van Outen, Fearne Cotton, Alexandra Burke and other celebrities.
Speaking about the trek Jacqueline said: “It was a wonderful experience.
“Every day brought different conditions and therefore different challenges.
“The fundraising wasn’t easy, but it just goes to show what a bit of hard work and a little creativity can do if you set your mind to it.
“I would say to anyone out there fancying a sponsored challenge, what are you waiting for? Go for it!”
Cooper’s Coffee was founded by Jacqueline and her husband David in 1989.
It operated from a garage in Leeds before expanding to supply restaurants, cafes and venues around the country with award-winning coffee, the latest espresso machines and also provides free barista training.
