Portland Coffee Shop Raises $10K With 'Harboring Hope' Stickers

When someone criticized a Portland coffee shop for protecting immigrant neighbors, owner Josh turned the attack into action.

Heretic Coffee posted on Instagram in January that they know exactly how to refuse ICE entry and service. They laid out their safety plan, even offering leftover burritos and a place to sleep if needed.

One commenter shot back: "It will be great when you get arrested for harboring hope they tape your perp walk." The missing punctuation sparked an idea.

"The missing punctuation in your comment has inspired us!" Heretic responded. "Looks like we need to make some 'Harboring Hope' stickers." They promised all profits would go toward feeding immigrant neighbors.

Within a week, Heretic partnered with Sticker Junkie to launch the campaign. They paired the stickers with hand-frosted "paras todos" cookies from Jen's Pastries, meaning "for everyone" in Spanish.

The goal: raise close to $10,000 for Portland's immigrant community. "American or not, if you are in our shop, or our city, you are our family," Josh told Good Good Good. "And families protect each other."

This isn't Heretic's first time stepping up. When SNAP benefits were suspended for 42 million Americans in November, they immediately began offering free breakfasts to anyone who asked.

That effort exploded into a global movement. Donors from Norway, Australia, Ireland, Egypt, and beyond contributed nearly $380,000 by January. Other restaurants nationwide joined in offering SNAP meals.

The Ripple Effect

Heretic now posts daily updates on Threads showing how many neighbors they've fed. "Today, 33 people didn't go hungry," read one typical post from January 20.

The coffee shop stays transparent about where donations go. They share announcements about contributions to Black Futures Farm, Central City Concern, the African Refugee Immigrant Organization, and other local groups.

The negative comments keep coming, but they're drowned out. "90% of the comments are overwhelmingly positive; the other 10% is just very loud," Josh said. "It's also beautiful to see the positive comments do whatever they can to promote and support our work!"

What started as criticism became a rallying cry for community care, proving that hate can fuel hope when the right people are listening.