Founder of Coffee Kids steps down

Bill Fishbein, founder of the Coffee Kids charity which is most commonly seen here on the labels of Percol coffee, has resigned from the board of the US office of the charity, but remains on the board of directors of Coffee Kids UK.

"It became obvious to me that Coffee Kids was going to have to be around for a long time," he said. "To do so, it had to become free from its dependency on me. We have been working towards this for several years, and we have now appointed an executive director whose heart and sensibilities are deeply rooted in our programmes. The board is more capable than any other time in Coffee Kids history, and I have no concerns about the future of Coffee Kids."

In the UK, Coffee Kids is supported by donations from several coffee roasters. The pioneer of its work here, however, has been Percol, which has donated something approaching half a million dollars to the cause in recent years.

By Ian Boughton