SAN ANTONIO —
The longest-tenured active player with the Spurs, guard Patty Mills is well known for his work in the community.
After eight seasons with the Silver and Black, Mills knows that giving back is ingrained in the franchise’s culture.
With Mother’s Day giving people something to celebrate Sunday, Mills is heading an initiative to raise the awareness of family domestic violence – which has spiked during the coronavirus pandemic that has turned the country on its head.
Concerned with the troubling statistics, Mills came up with the idea to head a coffee drive at eight San Antonio coffee shops from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Coffee, food and merchandise bought Sunday will be for curbside pick-up only.
Mills has pledged to contribute funds to Family Violence Prevention Services, doubling the amount of the revenue the eight shops collect Sunday. For example, if the eight coffee shops earn $10,000 in receipts, Mills will contribute $20,000.
“It’s being able to use my platform to bring everyone together, share some good vibes and at the same time be able to make an impact on things that really matter,” Mills said Friday during a Zoom conference with local media.
The eight shops participating in the drive are
- Brown Coffee, 812 S. Alamo St., 78205
- Estate Coffee Co., 1320 E. Houston Street, 78205
- Gold Coffee, 1913 S. Flores Street, 78204
- Indy Coffee Co., 7114 UTSA Blvd., 78249
- Mildfire Coffee, 15502 Huebner Road, 78248
- Press Coffee, 4035 Broadway St., 78209
- Scorpion Coffee on Lamar
- Theory Coffee, 2347 Nacogdoches Road, 78209
Mills was asked what inspired him to come up with the model to enlist the help of small businesses to help with the fundraising drive.
“This is an unusual model, I guess,” Mills said. “But even with the unusual circumstances, we’re just trying to work with what we’ve got and try to be able to do something to set an example as the San Antonio Spurs and as a player with the Spurs to involve the community and give back to our community.”
Mills said the rise of domestic violence during the pandemic has affected not only San Antonio, but the country and world as well.
“When you’re talking about our community directly, and the numbers that have occurred pre-pandemic, the numbers are very high,” Mills said.
Emergency 911 calls for family violence went up 18 percent in March compared to the same period last year.
Yet, Mills said, family violence “has been overlooked” during the pandemic.
“That’s my opinion, in how it’s been handled,” he said. “Not only nationally, but globally. What I’m trying to do here is be able to No. 1, support our community and make an impact in our community.
“But what I’m really hoping we can to do is be able to have a little bit of a domino effect on the rest of the country and throughout the world. I think by using this kind of unique model in this say, it can hopefully trigger some of that. This is a global issue that has been overlooked.”
An avid coffee drinker, Mills plans to make the rounds at the eight coffee shops participating in the drive.
Mills has even come up with the hashtag #GiveMamaCoffee for customers who may want to post photos of themselves on social media. Those who do will be eligible to win a chance to be on a Coffee Gang Zoom call with Mills.
Below is the media call Mills held over Zoom this week with local media where he explains his initiative.
