I am co-owner of Porpoura Coffee House, in Grand Forks, ND, and guess what? My  favorite color is purple.

 

I am most inspired by my Mother, Vicki Kopp. She lost her brother to cancer when he was only 35 years old. That experience prompted her to go to college at UND and become an oncology nurse. With three children and a husband at home, she managed a perfect grade point average and began employment at Altru as an Oncology Nurse on 6th floor after graduation. She provided exceptional care and compassion to the sickest patients with cancer. She also spent several years as a hospice volunteer. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer when she was only 42. She had surgery, radiation and chemotherapy and went into remission. Her cancer recurred as a terminal stage 4 breast cancer only 5 years later. Shortly after that her own mother, my grandmother, was diagnosed with breast cancer. (She was treated and is currently in remission.) My Mom refuses to be labeled as a terminal cancer patient. In her words, “we will treat this like a chronic illness and manage it.” Her fighting attitude and beautiful spirit inspire every one who knows her. The past four years have taught me more about life and it’s fragility than I think I ever wanted to know. She continues to fight and we continue to fight with her.

 

Mom and Dad (John Kopp) taught us from very early on that dreams are merely goals, and we can achieve anything we put our hearts and minds to. It is with that kind of encouragement that I was able to start Filling the Gap, with Brenda Jo Gillund, and Porpoura Coffee House, with Richelle Mewes. My years as a Gap manager opened doors which will never close. First of all, I met Richelle, who was a manager with me there. After receiving Gap Foundation’s first ever Founders’ Award ($50,000 to start my own charity and 80 hours of PTO to implement it), my life was forever changed. On top of that, because of Gap I have made lifelong friends that mean the world to me.

 

I have been blessed repeatedly in my life, and have learned to be grateful for every moment. I am thankful to God for the opportunities He has provided. I have a loving husband, Charles, who does anything and everything we need at Porpoura, and a beautiful daughter, Farrah. I am so humbled to be surrounded by such giving, intelligent, heart felt, humorous, and seriously crazy friends and family. (You know who you are, you crazy funny people.)

 

I also love coffee. Seriously. Coffee might as well be my third sister, because I feel a connection that only siblings can experience with it. It is with that love that I am committed to serving the best coffee I can get my hands on. I’m pretty sure we’ve accomplished that. Certified fair trade, organic, specialty grade coffee makes up only 2% of the world’s beans. And we have it. Yep. Right here in Grand Forks. We feel pretty cool. Because we are.

 

Speaking of cool, I really love our employees. My sister, Lasha, manages the store at the mall, and Tina manages Downtown. Our teams are made up of the coolest, funnest (spell check says that isn’t a word), most generous people in Grand Forks. Thank you all for everything you do! I also love our customers. If you are a customer reading this, thank you so much for supporting us and supporting your community.

 

 

 

And one more thing…

Some people ask, “Why do you give your money to Altru?” The answer is simple. I don’t. I give my money to a program that I started (with Brenda Jo Gillund, Altru Cancer Center), helping people who might not otherwise get treated for cancer. It’s called Filling the Gap. Altru Health System is a non profit organization, and their cancer center is state of the art. When Brenda Jo and I asked if we could help get patients to treatment, and provide nutrition to patients who need it, their answer was a whole hearted “yes!”. Being the only not for profit cancer center in Grand Forks, Altru treats patients regardless of their income. However, there is not much they can do if their patients can’t afford the gas for the 200 mile drive or money for a hotel room, or nutritional supplements so they can stay healthy during treatment. We do all of that. That’s what Filling the Gap is for, and that’s why Porpoura supports it.  Every dollar donated to Filling the Gap goes directly to the patients who need it most. Altru Health Foundation houses the program free of charge, and we are so grateful to them for that.

Ok, I’m done!

Porpoura Coffee House

Serving Coffee, Serving Our Community

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