Back to Guatemala!

This past July our VP Operations, Richard Fusco, led a group of University of Texas – McCombs School of Business MBAs on a service trip to the community of Palencia in Guatemala, the same community he visited last year. The trip was run by an organization Richard is a founding member of called Building Bridges Worldwide and their partners Eleva Coffee and Seeds for Progress. The team raised over $15,000 to install new toilets, a septic system and clean water storage for the school. The improvements will allow more kids to have some of the basics we take for granted, access to clean water and a safe, clean place to go to the bathroom.

It was a chance for the MBA students to build bonds with each other through their hard work of mixing cement, painting and shoveling cement in the hot sun. In addition, they got to spend a day on the farm, helping fertilize coffee plants, plant some new plants and learn about the hand-harvesting process. This hands-on experience gave them the opportunity to see where a cup of coffee gets its start. Getting to know the people in the community and building bonds with the children created lifelong memories for everyone!