'It's gone beyond what I imagined': Kaukauna Coffee and Tea launches new initiative to support local students
Jan 15, 2025
KAUKAUNA, Wis. (WFRV) - As a mother of three, Kaukauna Coffee and Tea owner Mamie Nickel is always doing the most for her children, but that extends to her community as well.
"Children sitting there all day long having to absorb all this knowledge, it's hard to begin with, let alone to have to do it wondering what they're going to have for lunch today, or how embarrassed are they going to be to have to sit at lunch, and they maybe don't have something but their friends do," said Mamie Nickel. "That's a horrible feeling that no human being should have to experience, let alone a child."
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In an effort to assist students in the Fox Valley area facing food insecurity, Nickel came up with "Community in a Cup" as her theme for 2025, with the "No Belly Hungry Fund" as the first initiative.
Customers have the option to round up their purchases at checkout to contribute to the fund.
"At the end of each month, I choose a local area school, and I will donate the money there. We will drop off a check to any child whose lunch funds maybe just need a little more love this time of year," she said.
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"It's gone beyond what I imagined, and we're very much a family as employees here, but our customers are as well," Nickel told Local 5. "It's been overwhelming. I have not had a business hesitate or say no."
The initiative goes until the end of May when the school year ends, but Mamie plans to introduce a new one following the "Community in a Cup" theme.