She was trafficked as a child. Now this survivor fights back through coffee.
August 22, 2019Sanford, Florida (CNN) From the drinks to the décor, everything about Palate Coffee Brewery is warm — and not just because it’s located in sunny central Florida. Some 1,200 miles south of Boston, it’s reminiscent of a famous hangout where everyone knows your name.
“I always say it’s like ‘Cheers,'” says Palate co-founder and co-owner Tina Kadolph. “It’s a place where people can go and feel safe and they’re cared about.”
Kadolph, who describes herself as a “survivor warrior of child sex trafficking,” dreamed up Palate as a café with a mission. All the baristas are volunteers, and all profits — even tips — go to fight human trafficking and help survivors.
“The person who buys our coffee is not just buying a cup of coffee,” Kadolph explains. “They’re making a community difference, a global difference, an individual difference, in lives.”
For Kadolph, it’s the kind of support she wished for growing up.
“I have always longed to help other people because of my childhood. I didn’t have help,” she adds. “I know what it feels like to have nothing and to have no hope.”
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Category: Arts and Creative Activism, Awareness, Survivor Support