A locally owned coffee chain rang in the new year by giving back to the community.

Kaladi Brothers Coffee, a coffee chain based in Anchorage, dedicated New Year’s Day to supporting the Students in Transition Program, which provides resources and services to homeless students in the Kenai Peninsula School District. Kaladi Brothers locations around the state participated in giving back, including the shop located on South Kobuk Street in Soldotna.

Melanie Smith, shift leader at the Kobuk location, said on Wednesday that the store had been busy since she started her shift.

“I got here at one, and it went really well today,” Smith said. “We had a line out the door pretty much the whole day, so it was really nice to see how many people came out to support this.”

Smith said that 100% of the proceeds from coffee beverage sales for the day would be donated to Students in Transition, which by closing time was about $1,800. Smith said that people were also donating money on top of what they spent on their coffee.

“We actually had a little jar that people were putting money in because they wanted to donate more to the program,” Smith said. “I was so amazed, I couldn’t believe that many people were willing to donate to a charity just because we were donating as well. It was really humbling.”