Anthony McKeown launched Fight Coffee in an effort to fight human trafficking, donating all profit to anti-trafficking organizations around the country—but that’s only the beginning of his dream. Long term, he’s got big plans for using his business to help provide housing and employment to trafficking survivors.
Compelled to act
McKeown first learned about human trafficking at a Christian music festival. Between band sets, a speaker shared about children in Africa, some as young as five, who were forced to dive into the ocean to unhook fishing nets for fishermen. Because the work was so dangerous, many children were dying.
“That was one story that really got me,” McKeown said. “When I heard about it, for me, it wasn't ‘Should I do something?’ or ‘Could I do something?’ It was, ‘How can I not try to do something to make a difference?’”
Researching on his own later, he found an anti-trafficking organization and started donating monthly. As he read the newsletters that came every month, he learned more about the problem until he felt compelled to take even more action.
McKeown’s story
McKeown faced his own share of trauma growing up. After surviving three abortion attempts, he was molested several times as a child and faced homelessness and drug addiction in his teenage years. He came to faith in Christ after attending a friend’s Bible study and was miraculously and instantaneously delivered from addiction.
“I never believed that there was a God. And so coming to know Him and experience Him, I was like, ‘Wow, man, people need to know!’ So then I went to Bible college, so I literally went from homeless drug addict to Bible college. And that was an interesting transition for sure.”
He met his wife, Debra, at a Passion for Jesus conference, and now the two of them have two adult children: a 21-year-old son named Isaiah and a 24-year-old married daughter named Faith. Anthony and Debra McKeown live in Maine with their son. (Pictured: Anthony and Debra McKeown)
McKeown’s own past played a part in motivating him to make a difference for others.
“When I heard about human trafficking, I remember thinking, ‘My life is mild.’ I know you can’t compare, but I can’t imagine that.”
The beginning of Fight Coffee
McKeown had always wanted to open a cafe and donate the proceeds to the community. He started brainstorming and researching and decided to launch an online coffee store to reach as many customers as possible while minimizing cost.
He found several ethically sourced roasters and officially launched Fight Coffee in June of 2021.
Then, to have even greater impact, he began making educational videos on YouTube to raise awareness about human trafficking.
“I had a parent tell me—she watched one of our YouTube videos, and she was like, ‘Wow, I have some homework to do. I need to address this issue with my kids and social media.’” McKeown said. “So I am hoping that people are being impacted by what I'm trying to do on the awareness side through our social media channels. Awareness is the key to prevention.”
Unexpected challenges
Some 75% of Americans drink coffee regularly, and McKeown thought giving people a practical means to make a difference through their daily habits would be an obvious success. Instead, the business has been in survival mode since starting. McKeown drives a school bus for a living and still donates a portion of each bag of coffee sold, despite not yet earning enough from the business to make any profit.
“When you think of any human being … are they worth fighting for? I mean, that's why I named it Fight Coffee. I didn't even realize what a fight I would be in. I had no idea how difficult it would be to try to do what I'm doing, to try to raise awareness, to try to motivate people out of apathy and or lack of awareness, whatever it might be, to actually wanting to be a part of the solution.”
Dreaming big for the future
Donating the profits to anti-trafficking organizations is only one part of the dream for Fight Coffee.
Once they get to 2,000 monthly subscribers, McKeown wants to purchase a piece of land and build a safe house for trafficking survivors.
Then, the next step is to franchise Fight Coffee into coffee carts or physical establishments and provide opportunities for survivors to work, learn a skill, provide for themselves beyond a minimum wage, and for those that have the desire and aptitude, eventually even become owners.
He envisions a community of people supporting each other as they learn and grow together, having a clear path to excel in life rather than just gaining freedom and barely getting by.
He especially stressed this concept of community support being critical to preventing survivors from being revictimized.
“When I was a kid, I just wanted someone to rescue me, and there was no one. If I could ever do that, that's the dream and it's worth it.”
Be a part of this exciting vision!
We love McKeown’s passion and dedication to fighting human trafficking and championing survivors. We are so excited to partner with Fight Coffee!
Fight Coffee will donate $2 for every bag of coffee sold. That means if we can get 100 people to subscribe to Fight Coffee monthly, we can fund one intercept to stop someone from being trafficked EVERY. SINGLE. MONTH.
Plus, McKeown will be 100 people closer to his goal of 2,000 subscribers, when he can launch phase two of his vision and purchase land for a safe house!
Can you see the possibilities when we come together in this way?
Now it’s your turn to take action:
- If you’re a coffee drinker, give Fight Coffee a try. Head to their website at the button below, purchase a bag of coffee for yourself and/or a friend––better yet, subscribe monthly––and make sure to select “Love Justice International” from the dropdown menu of organizations to support.
- Check out Fight Coffee’s YouTube channel to learn more about human trafficking and help keep your loved ones safe! Follow Fight Coffee on socials to stay up to date (links at the bottom of Fight Coffee’s website––button below)
- Spread the word! Tell your fellow coffee lovers to try Fight Coffee next time they need to restock their pantry.
Together, we can make these dreams a reality—both funding Love Justice’s work intercepting potential victims before they are trafficked AND helping Fight Coffee create a brighter future for survivors of human trafficking.
*All data and statistics current at the date and time of publishing. Some specific locations excluded for privacy and security purposes.
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