Kids drink for a good cause

Babycinos have gone from raising eyebrows to raising money after cafe owners threw their support behind a campaign to raise money for Telethon.

The Weekend West encouraged cafe owners to start exchanging babycinos for a gold coin donation to Telethon after it was revealed some parents were paying up to $3.50 for the caffeine-free drink.

West End Deli manager Alice Muller. Picture: Michael Wilson/The West Australian

The idea was inspired by a Sydney campaign called Free the Babycino, which raised about $8000 for a children's hospital last year.

West End Deli in West Perth is one of 15 cafes in WA now offering free babycinos in exchange for a donation.

Venue manager Alice Muller said the deli sold more than 100 babycinos a week to parents looking to keep their children busy while they got their caffeine fix.

"Kids used to come in for an orange juice or an apple juice but now the big craze is babycinos and I think it's because it makes them feel grown-up," she said. "It's good for us too, because parents want to come in and have a break and a good time, so while they are doing that we keep their kids entertained with a babycino."

The Suite Small Bar in Shenton Park has also embraced the concept and will hand over babycinos when a gold coin donation is made.

Duty manager Celeste Guthrie said the campaign was "a great idea" and encouraged others to get on board. "I used to love getting babycinos when I was a kid," she said.

RAISE A CUP 15 The number of cafes already participating in the campaign.

Source: The West Australian, 29 October 2012