Lansing, Mich.-based Paramount Coffee is an employee-owned company that has been manufacturing coffee products since 1935. It supports specific causes with proceeds from the sales of various product lines. Spanning all philanthropic borders, Paramount focuses on local, national and international initiatives that range from helping area children to supporting farmers in Rwanda. Susan Fritz, sales executive, believes that “business leaders need to look beyond their profits and picture themselves as a giant volunteer.”

One Thousand Hills Fair Trade Rwanda Coffee was Paramount’s first step into the philanthropic business. Partnering with Michigan State University’s international agriculture program in 2006, Paramount has dedicated $1 of every pound of One Thousand Hills coffee sold to the Rwanda initiative, totaling more than $30,000. The CEO and Master Roaster, Angelo Oricchio, is instrumental in supporting the program, notes Fritz. In May, Oricchio visited the Cocagi Cooperative in Rwanda to present 400 goats that were purchased with the proceeds raised.

In 2007, Paramount created Ele’s Place coffee at the suggestion of President Steve Morris. One dollar from every bag goes to support an organization that helps grieving children in Lansing and Ann Arbor by giving them a place to meet. The company has now donated about $10,000.

Also in 2007, Kathi Zollman, a master roaster and cancer survivor, convinced Paramount to partner with her in the fight against breast cancer. She used her background as a roast master to create Caffe Rosa to support the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. The company donates $1 for every bag sold (or a $25,000 annual minimum) and has raised $50,000 in the last two years.

Paramount’s donations and fundraisers do make it a “giant volunteer,” but the staff has made philanthropy a personal mission. Aside from supporting the company’s major initiatives, explains Fritz, Paramount employees volunteer every month to cook meals at the local Ronald McDonald House, proving that no contribution to society is too big or too small.—Dennis Marrero