Long May You Run

Sunday Silence Coffee adopts a new motto for 2025 launching ongoing fundraiser for a charity we care about

The start of 2025 marks a four-year anniversary for Sunday Silence Coffee Co. and we have some exciting projects we are developing.

First on the list is our new motto and combined fundraising campaign we are calling: Long May You Run. An initiative our President Amelia Bishop got inspired to launch back in the summer of 2024. This fundraising initiative will support a charity that is dedicated to helping at risk Standardbred Racehorses find safe havens and finish the race of this life, in loving homes getting the care they so deserve. 

New Start Standardbreds (NSS) is a charity run on 100% volunteer operations, which launched in 2020. The NSS’ headquarters is based in Ontario and has a branch of dedicated volunteers in the Maritimes. These caring humans that make up NSS have a special love for Standardbreds, have taken up the cause to help these beautiful souls find a safe place to land after departing from their racing careers. Often, many horses who’ve worked in this discipline find themselves in unfortunate circumstances like Joe here, a quiet gentleman who gave his all during his racing days and won over $4M in purse winnings. 

Amelia (left) and Brynn Essery (right, a Barn Manager at Storybook Adventures in Brookfield PEI), met a couple months after Joe arrived safely from a kill pen in Oklahoma. Interestingly, Joe was born on the farm at Storybook over two decades ago. Thankfully when farm owner, Jana Hemphill found out he was in a bad spot, she was able to make a place for him back home where he settled in among friends. Joe would have more to share about his story if he could talk in human words. He’d probably tell you how frightening it was not knowing if he was going to make it out alive… And, that his life is a miracle, and love is the way. 

We could all use more of these happy ending stories to encourage our hearts in a world that is full of a lot of terrible and tragic events. We are here to keep you up to date with more stories like Joe’s. Follow our social media as we move forward and track the victories of New Start Standardbreds and the amazing souls who find their fresh start.
So why this charity?

When we discovered New Start Standardbreds, we knew we needed to do something to help. Our new logo has a family story behind it. Owners Mike and Amelia Bishop received a small figurine of a Standardbred Racehorse and its jockey (seen in photo left) from Mike’s father (David Bishop) in March of 2024. This little figurine would have originally come from Mike’s grandfather, George Bishop, who was a horse Veterinarian and owner of Standardbred racehorses between the 1930s to early 1980s. He was well known during his day as the main horse Veterinarian on Prince Edward Island and had his horses racing on the island track as well as Truro, Nova Scotia. He had moved to Kentucky for a time where his horses would race in Lexington. 

With Mike’s family connection to the racing industry and Amelia’s love for horses, it was an obvious direction as we sought a fresh vision for 2025. Identifying an equine rescue charity that is doing some important work to help bring restoration for desperate horses was top of mind. By spreading the word and building financial support through donations from our own merchandise sales, we hope to make a positive impact this year and would be so grateful if you could join us on the ride. 

Our new logo is a vectorized image of that little figurine that inspired Amelia’s vision, after receiving the gift in March of 2024. This motivated her to start the search for an equine rescue charity to support. 

It wasn’t until later in the summer of 2024 while researching, she found New Start Standardbreds and read Joe’s fundraiser story. Fast forward to January 2025 and our brand-new Dad’s Coffee Run Ball Caps are in and ready to be shipped out to you! These are quality 100% cotton Pigment dyed, made by Nissi Caps. 

We are launching these hats with two versatile colour options in a cheerful, yet stylish Mango, and a soft Vintage Green. The dyed effect gives these hats a worn-in look, but have lots of life ahead for however much you choose to wear it. The fit is flexible and easily adjustable at the back. Embroidered in a single colour for a minimalistic look, by our friends at Stay Golden Custom in Hunter River, PEI (Stay Golden, interestingly, is only minutes down the road from Storybook Adventures where Joe found safety ☺). 
Our Contribution from Merchandise sales and how you can help:

Every time we sell a Sunday Silence branded Dad’s Ball Cap; we will donate $10 of the sale to New Start Standardbreds! The more hats we can sell the more money we can donate. These are the perfect gift all year round and a great hat to throw on as you head out for some errands or just hitting the trail in style. We’d love to hear from you with any more ideas on merch you might like to see in the future. 
Additional Leverage for NSS this year:

Sunday Silence Coffee Co. will also launch a marketing partnership with our local Staples Business Depot in February. Our company was nominated and selected at the start of 2025 to be part of a promotional campaign that will present our brand across the country as one of Staples Print/Copy Centre customers showcasing our company’s design/print project. This will enable us to promote our new motto and fundraising campaign Long May You Run on our signage to spread the word about the good work NSS is doing and encourage people to donate and support. 

We will have some other opportunities throughout this year to share this initiative at the Bluenose Marathon Expo in May (16 – 18) and some other race events like the upcoming 5K Night Owl in March; Not Since Moses in July and The Valley Harvest Marathon in the fall.

2025 is going to be a great year of engagement, new connections and reaching new heights. We are thrilled to have you on board for the adventure. 

On a final note, if you’re a horse person or know someone who is, NSS has plenty of horses that need sponsorship, fostering and adoption. You can check out their social media to keep an eye on their ongoing fundraisers that help at risk Standardbreds find safe homes through their Facebook page: New Start Standardbreds Maritimes Community. You can also check out their website for more details: https://www.newstartstandardbreds.com. 

Let’s show some love and support to these big hearts as they work to bring more horses to safety and a fresh start.

Peace and love,

Amelia Bishop
President, Co-Owner, Horse Lover