Cafe 109 is celebrating the sending-off of shoeboxes that have been collected for Operation Christmas Child over the last few weeks. The coffee shop is acting as a hub for shoebox donations full of gifts as part of a seasonal partnership with Samaritan’s Purse. The party is taking place Dec. 8 from 7 to 9 p.m, after which the shoeboxes will be sent off. The event is open to the public, and Cafe 109 staff and associates encourage Biola students to attend.

CAFE 109 PARTNERS WITH SAMARITAN'S PURSE

The purpose of the event is to celebrate the shoeboxes donated at Cafe 109 from the community, according to senior journalism major Amber Amaya. Following the event, the donations will be then transferred to Samaritan’s Purse’s West Coast packing center in Ontario. The coffeehouse will not accept any further shoebox donations after Dec. 8.

The evening celebration was organized by Amaya and her fellow senior journalism classmates Lena Smith, Julia Henning and Adria Iraheta. They sought out the collaboration between Samaritan’s Purse and Cafe 109 as part of an assignment for their social media, search engine optimization and digital strategy class at Biola. Since then, the group has been in charge of promoting Cafe 109’s vision via social media.

“Cafe 109’s vision and purpose is to be an example of Christ’s love. Partnering with Samaritan’s purse is a natural outpour of that vision,” Amaya said.

LOCAL MUSICIANS TO PERFORM 

Two music performances will be featured during the event from Biola student Isaiah Barker and musician Jeremy Joel, along with a raffle. The coffeehouse will be functioning as normal, offering its usual selection of drinks and pastries.

Located in downtown Fullerton, Cafe 109 held its grand opening at the beginning of the 2013 school year according to a previous Chimes article. The coffeehouse is the brainchild of owner of Scott Moffatt, a history professor at Biola. After discussing the idea of a ministry-based cafe with his Biola students in 2010, Moffatt made the idea a reality. Cafe 109 is now a non-profit business that gives 100 percent of its profits to charity, according to an article by Inside Fullerton.

“Because Cafe 109 was started by a Biola professor, it’s become a unique place for students to gather outside of campus,” Amaya said.

Moffatt said he would like events with organizations like Samaritan’s Purse to be promoted more in the future.

Cafe 109 is a great place for Biola students to hang out and have a good time, even more so with Cafe 109’s collaboration with Samaritan’s Purse in recent weeks, according to assistant manager and sophomore biblical studies major Molly Goodale.

“It’s a great place to begin with, but it’s also a good way to support Cafe 109 and what we stand for,” Goodale said.