In the summer of 2019, Amy Rogers was working with Enactus, the student group at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. The group focuses heavily on social entrepreneurship, giving a hand up, rather than a hand-out. That summer Amy and her youngest son Cody joined Enactus students visiting coffee farmers in the San Lucas Toliman area of Guatemala. For years, students have traveled to the area, meeting farmers and their families, learning about the agricultural direct-trade process and seeing the inability for farmers to earn a long-term sustainable living.
“The trip had a huge impact on us. When we returned, we knew we wanted to do something in the US to increase the demand for the farmers’ coffee beans. Unfortunately, the demand is not high enough yet so our goal is to be part of the solution. Combining our entrepreneurial spirit with theirs, we wanted to be part of what the college students have termed, the cycle of mutual empowerment.” This is where Amy and her husband Steve’s journey to direct trade coffee began.
Pulling from life inspiration surrounded by amazing family and friends living their best life, Live Life Coffee captures the idea of living the truest version of oneself by doing something BOLD. “Make a difference. Be part of the change. Live life to its fullest. Dare to dream AND follow those dreams. It’s a lifestyle and a mission all rolled into one,” writes Amy.
Moved by the loss of one of her closest friends in high school due to cancer, Amy always had a soft spot for the cause that unfairly reaches more than 15,000 children in the United States each year. Then, when Cody’s dear friend Megan Bugg was bravely fighting rhabdomyosarcoma, Amy began working with Megan on a cause coffee project that would benefit childhood cancer awareness. Students at North Central College helped come up with the light roast, Megan’s Mission Guatemalan & Costa Rica blend (Megan’s favorite) and launched in 2022. Five dollars of each bag sold goes towards cc-TDI and the ongoing support of the Megan Bugg Fellow – a dedicated researcher working full-time on rhabdomyosarcoma treatment options and cures.
Megan fought rhabdomyosarcoma for more than seven years, determined to fight an antiquated and underfunded childhood cancer treatment system. She wanted to be remembered as the “kid who did something.” And boy did she. Determined to live life on her terms AND make a positive difference, Megan and her community of Team Megan Bugg supporters, have raised more than $1.5 million dollars in support of childhood cancer research. This includes the naming of the Megan Bugg Global Rhabdomyosarcoma Research Laboratory at the Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute. “Our hope is that through coffee, we can live life to its fullest making a positive difference in the process.”
cc-TDI is humbled to receive ongoing support from Amy and her family. Thanks to their passion for making a difference, cc-TDI researchers are pushing the frontier of childhood cancer research. We look forward to the day when all childhood cancers are universally survivable. To order Megan’s Mission in light, medium or dark roast, click here.