A random act of kindness is a selfless act performed by a person or people wishing to either assist or cheer up an individual person or people – Source: Wikipedia
According to Michelle Robichaud, the Tim Horton’s spokesperson, it’s not an ingenious marketing scheme but a sincere and random act of coffee kindness that has spawned caffeine copy-cats across Canada.
It started on Monday, July 22 in Edmonton, Alberta, when a 20-something man walked in to a Tim Horton’s, ordered a large double-double and a Boston cream doughnut, then asked the cashier to add 500 large coffees for the next customers to his bill. His bill was over $800 and no one knows why he did it! It took Tim’s until 8:00 a.m. the following morning to fill that order. Within a day or two, another gentleman in Calgary, Alberta, ordered 500 medium coffees for the next 500 customers. On Thursday, a soon-to-retire bus driver entered an Ottawa, Ontario Tim’s and ordered 500 coffees, which were filled in less than an hour. By Saturday, the random acts of coffee had visited St. John’s, Newfoundland with the purchase of 120 Tim gift cards for the next 120 guests. By 6:00 p.m. last night, Tim Horton’s across Canada reported 29 separate incidents of large orders in a “pay it forward” motion.
Coffee lovers have other reasons to smile. A recent Harvard study revealed that people who drank 2-4 cups of caffeinated coffee a day (the equivalent of about 400 mg of caffeine) had a 50 per cent lower risk of suicide because the caffeine in coffee may act as a mild anti-depressant and increase neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine and noradrenalin. In other studies, coffee has been linked to the reduced likely hood of type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia, and has been known to reduce the likelihood of other serious medical conditions.
If you’re a coffee drinker, go sip to that! And if the spirit moves you, go share a random act of coffee!
Resources:
http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/blogs/healthy-living/spill-beans-5-myths-coffee-debunked-212000234.html
http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/blogs/shine-on/harvard-study-links-coffee-reduced-suicide-risk-190349574.html
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/caffeine-copycat-500-free-coffees-given-away-in-ottawa-calgary-edmonton-1.1383473#ixzz2aZwehJPe
http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?mn=2&id=36869&latest=1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_act_of_kindness
vancouverandy said:
I really enjoyed this topic, both in the news and on your blog! If I win the loto free coffee for all!
jennsmidlifecrisis said:
I am a Timmies girl all the way and loved this news story. Thought it was worth sharing! If you won the lotto, would that be Tim’s coffee or Starbucks? I personally don’t drink coffee so can’t comment which is best! LOL
vancouverandy said:
Hyper lame reply on my end: I happen to enjoy Mc Donald’s coffee. It was lame for millions of years. Hands you the bullet so shoot me. He he.
ihealthnut said:
Fellow coffee aficionado here! Enjoyed your post. For another coffee treat, check out http://68anda6pack.com/2013/07/30/christmas-coffee-healthy-teas-ing-and-managing-the-munchies/ . =)
jennsmidlifecrisis said:
Thanks! I will check it out!
coachdaddyblogger said:
Awesome story. I don’t have the jack to foot for 500 coffees, but I once bought lunch for the woman behind me in the drive-thru at Wendy’s. Of course, I thought it was my daughter’s teacher, but it was not – so some pretty woman with curly black hair got a treat for looking like someone else!
jennsmidlifecrisis said:
You’re such a cool guy! You probably made her week (or maybe her year)! 🙂
Main Street Musings Blog said:
I will definitely drink to that!
marianbeaman said:
I’m perking coffee now – in the cool, central California coast. What a reprieve from steamy Florida. Thanks to your blog (WOW-great stats!) I won’t fuss at my husband for drinking too much coffee.
coastalmom said:
What a great story! Thanks for sharing.
🙂
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marianbeaman said:
Jenn, I’m going to provide a link to this post on my upcoming coffee/tea blog post: Teaser or a Cuppa Coffee, scheduled for Feb. 4. Heart-warming story.
jennsmidlifecrisis said:
Please do. I thought it was such a neat idea! What an easy way to bless a stranger.
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allinthedayofme said:
This was a delightful post! And my husband just made a fresh pot of coffee! He didn’t even know what I was reading! I’ll enjoy it even more now! Thanks for sharing, Marian! 🙂