VIRGINIA BEACH, VA / ACCESSWIRE / July 25, 2022 / Coffee of Valhalla, a veteran-owned business whose non-GMO, freshly roasted coffee beans are shipped straight to customers' doorsteps, has announced it will now donate 50% of its proceeds to Stop Soldier Suicide. The company, owned by disabled Afghanistan veteran Michael Martinez, seeks to use the popularity of coffee as a way to generate life-saving mental health programs and mental health awareness for veterans.
Since 9/11, 30,177 active duty personnel and veterans who served in the military have died by suicide. The reasons for this troubling trend are undeniably complex but likely include PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and trauma experienced because of combat, abuse, and harassment, among many other possibilities. Coffee of Valhalla states that in order to bring more mental health programs to vets, it is working with Stop Soldier Suicide, which focuses on meeting at-risk veterans where they are and providing personalized care and continued case management.
"At Coffee of Valhalla, we care deeply about using our resources to help those who have served our country overcome the challenges they are facing," says Michael. "On deployment in Afghanistan, I lost several close friends to combat or suicide. I believe very much in helping our veterans in some of the darkest days of their lives, and I am more than happy to donate half our proceeds to Stop Soldier Suicide in pursuit of this goal."
Coffee of Valhalla generates its revenue through the sale of ethically sourced coffee beans, which come from Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Colombia, Peru, and other countries. Its coffee has been so popular that in just the first few weeks after its launch, the company provided five hours of mental health to vets through Stop Soldier Suicide.
"We were thrilled to have already been able to make an impact on the mental health of veterans, but this is only the beginning," says Coffee of Valhalla. "With so many hurting military members around the world, we have more work to do. Over the next five years, we plan to grow our customer base so that we can sustain the provision of five hundred hours of mental health programs each month to our warriors."
In the meantime, to help more veterans understand that they are not alone and that assistance is available, the company will be at Vet Fest 2022 in Delaware in September, where the public can stop by to sample its coffee and support veterans. "We look forward to talking with individuals about the challenges that our warriors face both in combat and when they return to the United States," says Coffee of Valhalla. "It will be a great chance for us to bring our mission to the Delaware community, which has been very supportive."
The company hopes that it can pave the way for more coffee vendors to do what they can to help veterans.
"Soldiers are at least four times as likely to die by their own hands as they are by combat," says Coffee of Valhalla. "This is a number we must all work to bring down. We aim to use coffee, which is loved by millions of people, to help shape the conversation about mental health and to impact the lives of our amazing veterans for the better."
Coffee of Valhalla was founded by veteran Michael Martinez, whose 17 ½-year military career came to an abrupt end in 2021. On deployment in Afghanistan, Michael experienced trauma from losing close friends to combat or suicide. The one thing that got him through it was sitting on the roof of their mud hut, drinking a cup of coffee, and watching the sun rise over the mountains of Afghanistan. Beans were mailed to him from around the world, and the fifteen minutes of quiet allowed him to clear just enough fog from his head to get his footing and start making dramatic changes that would help him through the process.
Today, Coffee of Valhalla sells fresh-roasted-to-order coffee ethically sourced from around the world. With 50% of the proceeds donated to Stop Soldier Suicide, a morning cup of coffee will help someone else who is in a dark time of their life.
For more information about Coffee of Valhalla, please see see its website or contact:
Coffee of Valhalla
[email protected]
(757) 542-5409
SOURCE: Coffee of Valhalla