Coffee with a cause is the focal point of the new 3R coffee and ice cream shop in San Jose. 3R stands for rescue, rehabilitation and release, which sums up the goal of the shop, as most of the proceeds from the shop, which is located next to the Corsica gallery on Alvaro Obregon Street, will go saving marine wildlife in Baja California Sur.

3R is currently working with the Rescue and Release Organization, a nonprofit here in Mexico; both are run by the same group of people. The four colleagues who own 3R and Rescue and Release – Jamie and Nora Bernal and their friends Cristian Sanchez and Ricky Rebolledo – have worked in environmental and marine conservation their entire careers and have been involved in conservation efforts here in Los Cabos for quite some time.

The Rescue and Release group has two main goals. The first is to educate others on the importance of preserving the environment and wildlife. Nora is the expert in the education department and for the past two years has organized workshops in local public schools. She says there is a major need for making young kids aware of environmental deterioration. These short workshops, which are geared mainly to kindergarteners and elementary students, focus on such subjects as how to save energy, taking care of natural resources and recycling.

The other goal of Rescue and Release is to build a center for the conservation of marine wildlife here in Los Cabos. There, the group would assist stranded marine animals, feed them, give them medical attention and reintroduce them into their natural habitat, as well as study marine life and provide information on environmental conservation. The oceans here in BCS contain 40% of the different varieties of the world’s sea mammals, making it a great place to both study and conserve ocean wildlife. The tourism in Los Cabos would also help bring a lot of attention to the cause.

Rescue and Release founded the 3R shop as a first step towards building the center, which is still just a dream right now. The shop will serve primarily as a way to inform the public of their cause and secondarily as a way to raise funds. The group realizes the coffee shop isn’t going to raise enough money to build the center, but it’s a start in the right direction. For the bulk of their fundraising, Rescue and Release will rely mainly on donations. “But before we ask for donations, we want to show potential benefactors what we have already done and are currently doing,” Jaime says. The coffee shop and public school education programs give them a solid head start. The Bernals say they already have a number of groups interested in donating equipment and materials once construction on the center can start.

The four founding members of Rescue and Release opened the 3R shop with the hope of turning it into a full nonprofit in the future. They’ve received a few sponsorships that have helped with the opening of the shop. The coffee and ice cream at 3R is available at a surprisingly low cost because of some of those same sponsors. A cup of coffee or a scoop of ice cream goes for about $1.50 USD. The coffee is provided by the Cabo Coffee Company and the ice cream by La Dolcevilla. The next time you’re in the mood for a treat, swing on by the Art District and support a good cause; just look for the blue umbrellas.