Albuquerque coffee shop raises donations for fire victims
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The pain of losing everything to a wildfire is all too familiar to the owners of one coffee shop in northeast Albuquerque.
“My dad lost his home in Mora, New Mexico, and so many people that he knew, friends of his, people that we knew lost everything and we were like, ‘This is a great opportunity to do something,'” Steve Maes said.
Maes owns Rust is Gold coffee shop in Albuquerque. It’s a place that blends a love for coffee with a love for anything with an engine and two or four wheels. Two years after the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire impacted his family, Maes is using his coffee shop to help families impacted by the South Fork and Salt Fires in Ruidoso.
As they did when the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire was raging, Rust is Gold is selling special T-shirts with all proceeds going to those impacted families in Ruidoso.
“We raised about $2,000 for the [Hermit’s Peak/]Calf Canyon Fire but I think we are already at that point for the Ruidoso victims. I think we are going to be somewhere in the $3000 range hopefully,” Maes said.
Maes says they sold out of T-shirts in just two days and are taking preorders for additional shirts. Some people, though, have just donated money straight-up.
“It’s great to see when people come together and really offer support and be a part of something. It gives you hope again,” Maes said.
The plan is to sell these shirts for a while. You can buy them online or in person. More details are here on their website and here on their Facebook page.