Help Emily Knit Her Way To Camp!

Emily Jackson is a barista and trainer for Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters in Olympia, Wash., and Emily really, really wants to go to Camp.

We’re talking about Camp Pull-A-Shot, the Barista Guild of America’s annual retreat where coffee professionals come together to further their bar skills, build community, share and learn, and have a blast. I attended last year, and I can attest to the fact that Camp is one of the most successful learning models in our specialty coffee industry.

Like a lot of baristas, Emily has limited funds, and so she entered Barista Magazine’s Camp Pull-A-Shot Scholarship Program this year, wherein she submitted a video of herself talking about why she wanted to go to Camp and what she hoped to learn. Here it is: Emily

We received 23 video submissions for the Scholarship program, and they all rocked. But there could be only one winner. And the Barista Guild Executive Council’s votes determined Anderson Stockdale as the winner. Anderson is awesome, and I know she’ll make the very most of her Camp experience.

But I saw Emily during an event earlier this week in Portland, and she told me she wants to go to Camp more than ever. But she was frustrated because she didn’t have the money for registration. Her employer, Batdorf & Bronson, had generously offered to pay her airfare if she could raise the money for Camp ”$595 (which includes lodging, food and all registration fees). Having seen her wear adorable knitted hats and scarves at various coffee events over the years, and thinking I recognized a fellow knitter, I asked her, “Are you crafty?” Her coworker Heather Ringwood, standing nearby, said, “Oh, you bet she’s crafty!” So the three of us came up with an idea: Emily would ask for sponsors for her Camp registration, each sponsorship costing $50. In exchange for the sponsorship, the donors would receive a knitted hat, scarf, fingerless mittens, or even a Chemex cozy, made by hand by Emily.

So sponsor Emily and send her to Camp! She wants to knit her way there, and with your support, she can.

Email Emily at EJackson@batdorf.com asap and buy a sponsorship for $50 ”and do it soon! She has a space reserved at Camp right now, but if she can’t pay the registration by Monday, Oct. 10, she’ll lose it, along with her chances of going to Camp.

In return you’ll get a beautiful, hand knitted hat or scarf or mittens to keep you warm this winter, and remind you that you helped a deserving barista get the chance to learn in a remarkable setting.