SANFORD, Fla. — Darren and Brittany Mann have turned their coffee counter into a way to help support families going through a tumultuous adoption process.
Their own has proven to be difficult, too.
What You Need To Know
- Hao Bao Bao, or Precious Baby coffee, is a family-owned mobile roaster and shop
- Owners Darren and Brittany Mann donate some profits to families going through difficult adoptions
- The Manns are also stuck waiting to bring home a son from China
- Adoptions in China have been on hold because of COVID
Since the two teachers turned their food truck into a fundraiser for families hoping to adopt, Darren Mann left his classroom to run the business full-time.
The coffee drinker and roaster extraordinaire never grows tired of his daily grind and can down seven cups a day.
“I’m a purist, so I love black coffee,” Darren said, laughing.
The name of their operation signals that it is more than just a business. “Hao Bao Bao,” means “Precious Baby” in Chinese. The Manns are eager to bring home their precious baby son from China, once adoptions reopen there.
The charitable side of the business donates $1 of each bag of coffee sold and half of all the tips received to one adoptive family each month to help with challenging adoption situations. So far, that’s meant $10,000 to more than a dozen families.
“We definitely know what it’s like to have to wait, and all the uncertainty to not know when your child’s going to be home and have no control over that,” said Brittany, who oversees Hao Bao Bao’s charitable operations.
In April, more than $400 went to Hannah and Brent Romero, who are trying to get their teenage Ukrainian siblings to their home in Mississippi from an Austrian orphanage as war in Ukraine rages on.
Adoptions are on hold indefinitely because of the conflict. The Romero family is one of about 300 families hoping the U.S. government will negotiate with Ukraine to get the adoption process reopened to those like the 11- and 16-year-old sister and brother they need to complete their family.
“We just feel like our family is split, you know?” Hannah Romero said. “Like, Mother’s Day was really rough because we should’ve had our kids home by then.
“Trying to be a parent from 6,000 miles away when your children are suffering — hopefully the most traumatic thing they’ll ever suffer in their lives — it’s draining, it’s exhausting and it’s emotional.”
The family said it is grateful for the support they’ve received from the Manns and Hao Bao Bao.