John Sweeney had a dream as a child to help people. He didn’t know how he was going to do it. However, a couple of years ago, he began a social movement called, “suspended coffee.” He partnered with a local coffee shop to allow a customer to buy a “suspended” cup of coffee. This “suspended” cup of coffee could later be purchased by a struggling, homeless or down-on-their-luck person without paying. Fast forward to present day and there are now over 2,000 cafes across 34 countries that participate in the suspended coffee movement. Each week some 1.5 million free cups of coffee are given out. People helping people.
Joe’s Perspective: What a small gesture… a small gesture that goes a long way… a gesture that helps the struggling man gain a little nourishment, a little comfort and the knowledge that someone, albeit a complete stranger, cares about him… a gesture that helps an established person give a little something to help someone in need… a gesture that helps to bind a community together. I bet the community as a whole feels proud…connected…kind. It’s really about more than the coffee.
Your Turn: One person started this social movement. I challenge you to think of just one small or large thing you can do to make your community a better place to live.
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
hang out jobs most homeless is homeless because they dont want to have a job or work for what they have im sorry but if you are homeless and dont want to be why are you not trying to do anything about it go back to school get a job make a living the right why not just sucking off others who work hard thats all i have to say about that.
Author
Hey Rick, I hear your views loud and clear, but all kinds of things happen to make someone struggle – get laid off, poor decisions, husband leaves you, can’t find a job… I think the least we can do is buy a cup of coffee for someone who could use it. Compassion and empathy and still very important traits.
This was very touching to hear that these homeless people are receiving help or support from the community. It is so sweet someone thought of this small act of kindness that probably means so much to the others on the receiving end.
I think this is a very realistic way to doe something small that will make someone’s day better. Pay it forward is a great idea but sometimes is unreasonable or difficult to execute. This is a fun, easy way to directly affect someone with something as small and simple as a coffee.
I will clean up trash that has blown into my yard
I could help my community by cleaning up the litter.
I thought that this video was pretty cool and inspiring. The idea of suspended coffee was amazing!
Coffee is useful to many people, but there are more important things that could replace this.