Good will unites business owner, students

A local business owner and a group of high school students have joined forces to help people halfway across the world.

Classic Coffee Systems, which supplies coffee, other beverages and related items to companies in the Metropolitan area, is raising money to build a well in Ethiopia to help citizens there who have no access to clean drinking water. Charles Chiarello, owner of Classic Coffee, is hoping to reach his fundraising goal of $10,000 within the next few months.

He will do it with the help of a student organization at Central High School, YOLO SDT. The group is hosting a talent show on May 30, with proceeds going to Charity Water, a non-profit organization that brings clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries.

So far, Chiarello has received about $4,000, with donations ranging from $3 to $500. A Girl Scout troop gave $171. He said he plans to make his personal contribution at the end.

Chiarello has personal connections to the east African nation. His grandson, adopted by Chiarello’s son at 5 months old, was born there. Additionally, the Kaffa region of Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, the product that has provided Chiarello with his livelihood.

“I just feel it is important to give back to a country that is important worldwide, important to my industry and important to my family,” he said.

YOLO members Kristen Spencer and Jennifer Sorace, both juniors, said the group has been searching for a way to help others. “We were trying to find a good charity to donate all of our proceeds from this year to,” Spencer said.

She added that the talent show will combine two things that Central High students love — music and helping others.

The average life expectancy in Ethiopia is 58 years, however that number is lower in rural areas where clean drinking water is scarce and people have to walk several miles, often without shoes, for a drink. The country also has a high infant mortality rate of 60 children per 1,000 births. The well that Chiarello and Central students are looking to fund would serve a village of several hundred residents.