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Southampton charity Sailors' Society opens first coffee lounge

28 Mar, 2017

A Southampton charity is making a sea change in the way it raises money as it opens its first coffee lounge in Portswood.

The BySea Coffee Lounge, on Portswood Road, opens its doors on Thursday (March 30). All profits from the shop will go towards the work of Sailors’ Society supporting seafarers around the world.

The shop will serve BySea coffee, the ethically sourced, socially responsible brand launched by Sailors’ Society last year, with blends coming from some of the 27 countries where the charity operates.

Sailors’ Society’s director of development, Adam Stacey, said: “On our opening weekend, we will be selling every regular cup of coffee at 90p – a significant number because more than 90 per cent of everything we own, from cars to coffee, comes by sea.

“Seafarers sacrifice a lot to get these goods to us. Many of them come from the world’s poorest communities, and they spend up to a year at sea at a time, facing incredible loneliness, storms and even pirate attacks.

“The BySea Coffee Lounge isn’t just a great place to relax and enjoy an excellent cup of coffee, but also a way of giving back to these often-forgotten men and women.”

Sailors’ Society helps seafarers through a wide range of support services, from giving them lifts to the doctor when they arrive in port, to offering crisis counselling to victims of piracy or natural disasters.

The charity also looks after seafarers’ families, helping them if their loved ones are in crisis, and providing education and housing in some of the poorest seafaring communities.

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