If you go into Glen Innes library, you will be greeted by a young man and woman behind a coffee cart. They are pleasant and the coffee is good. Nothing extraordinary about that.
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But behind the cart is a story.
The woman is the daughter of a Falklands veteran and the man is her fiance (the Falklands veteran’s future son-in-law). The couple are selling the coffee to raise money to help people who have experienced war readjust to civilian life.
Brody is the daughter of Terry McNally who was on HMS Fearless when it was attacked in 1982. He survived though some of his comrades didn’t. He eventually transferred to the Royal Australian Navy and ended up in Brisbane where he lives to this day.
According to his daughter, Brodie, he knew several former servicemen who committed suicide when they failed to cope with non-military life so he decided to set up an organisation to help people make the difficult transition.
The business is called “3elements” and it roasts and sells coffee with a cut to the charity ($1 for every cup and $5 per bag). It describes itself as “the Australian Veteran-owned coffee company who support ex-military personnel and their families through the love of coffee.”
So the coffee cart is there to make money for the charity but also to inform about the plight of warriors who find peace traumatic.
Brodie and her soon-to-be-husband, Brad, speak as one, each finishing the other’s sentences. They said the cart was “to support veterans through their transition. It’s about putting them back into society and helping them sustain a job – making sure they are happy in the job”.
“We’re proud to be a for-profit enterprise that is owned and operated by veterans but also supports veteran-focused charities and social enterprises by donating a percentage of our profits and promoting initiatives wherever possible.”
The couple and their coffee cart have just been in Stanthorpe. They are currently touring New England and then beyond. From Glen Innes, they go to Tamworth and then Dubbo, Canberra, Wagga and Melbourne.
In October, they will be at the Invictus Games in Sydney where wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel take part in sports including wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, and indoor rowing.
Brodie and Brad said as one: “This is about us doing something to say ‘thank you’.”
