Who said coffee can't also give back to the community?
Latina, former educator and now entrepreneur, Stephanie Vasquez, is taking the initiative to make a difference in the community every third Tuesday of each month -- and there's no ending to this initiative.
Stephanie is the owner of Fair Trade Cafe in Phoenix and she is on a mission to support local nonprofit organizations by launching "Giving Tuesday."
The initiative is ongoing and the community can participate all year long.
"Giving Tuesday" will allow people to come to Fair Trade Cafe and vote for their favorite nonprofit organization.
At the end of the day, the votes are tallied and 10 percent of the cafe's sales go to the most voted for nonprofit.
"We really do need to support our local nonprofits,” Stephanie said, “our nonprofits are really what's helping our communities.”
People must make a purchase at Fair Trade Cafe in order to vote for a nonprofit.
"Really, what's behind all this is empowering our consumers to most definitely shop local, keep their money here local and then also passing that to the businesses to encourage them and other small local businesses to then give back to our nonprofits," Stephanie said.
Stephanie also mentions how she never looks back in deciding to start her own businesses. As far her being a Latina business woman, she feels the love from the community.
"There's enough of us to support each other," she said.