Drink One for Dane returns to Las Cruces

Cars wrapped around the Dutch Bros drive-thru on North Main Street March 15 as customers stopped in for more than just coffee during the company’s annual “Drink One for Dane” fundraiser benefiting ALS research. 

The campaign honored Dutch Bros co-founder Dane Boersma, who died from ALS in 2009. Throughout the day, $1 from every drink sold went to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, which funds ALS research, care programs and patient support services. 

“Our Fridays are the busiest day of the week,” said Faith Leal, shop lead at the Las Cruces location. “It gives us a chance to give back the most, which is really cool.”   

Employees promoted the fundraiser throughout the week with themed dress-up days, stickers and conversations with customers ahead of Friday’s event. Leal said the fundraiser carried personal meaning for the company because of Boersma’s legacy and influence on Dutch Bros culture. 

“He’s the reason that Dutch is so customer-focused and customer-based,” Leal said. “We’re making connections at the window. We’re talking to people.”   

Since partnering with the Muscular Dystrophy Association in 2007, Dutch Bros has donated $18.8 million through the campaign and hopes to surpass $20 million in lifetime contributions this year. Leal said many customers shared personal connections to ALS while visiting the stand throughout the day. 

“It’s crazy the amount of people that it touches,” she said. “Every time we put this on, we get someone through the window” with a connection to the disease.   

Customers also had the option to round up purchases at the drive-thru window, with proceeds supporting ALS research and patient care through the Muscular Dystrophy Association. For Leal, the event reflected more than a fundraiser. 

“It’s all because of him,” she said of Boersma. “We’re making connections at the window. We’re talking to people.”