GRAPEVINE, Texas — It started with an idea.
After a 30-year career in IT, Grapevine resident Jane Gow knew it was time for her second act.
“My husband and I decided, God give us our health and the chance to make it over here, so we decided it’s time for us to give back,” Gow said.
In 2019, the mom-of-three launched Be Kinder Coffee. It’s run entirely from her kitchen. The empty nester sells bags of organic coffee beans online and at farmer’s markets.
All the money she makes from sales goes directly to refugee families who are just starting out.
“I think it’s giving people a second chance in life,” Gow said.
It’s her way of going back to her roots, because Gow got that second chance more than 40 years ago.
At age 13, she and her family fled her home country of Vietnam during the Fall of Saigon. Together, they embarked on a treacherous journey by boat to the U.S.
“Coming over here the journey took us almost a year,” Gow said.
It wasn’t easy, but she and her family found success in their new country.
“I believe that we were not being accepted over here in terms of the public, but we’re here,” Gow said.
Through Be Kinder, she’s wants refugees to feel welcome when they arrive in the U.S. Gow plans to open a coffee storefront, and she has partnered with Refugee Services of Texas to give refugees the opportunity to work in her store.
Gow, who is a certified life coach, wants to help refugees navigate their new lives in the U.S.
Her mission is all in the name: Be Kinder.
“I was looking for a name, and I thought ‘Be Kind’… but I said, ‘You know, be kind is really hard, but all of us can be a little bit kinder,” Gow said. “There’s so much hate out there. I want to do something to let everyone know we’re all in this together.”
Big or small, she believes everyone can do something.
You can support Be Kinder coffee and learn more about her mission here.