The 2018 Common Kindness Day is tomorrow and the Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group is hoping that you are not only able to receive a free coffee, but that you pay it forward and keep the kind act going.
Tomorrow, ten locations around Ontario will hand out a card to its first 100 customers and brighten their day with a message and free cup of coffee. The project kicked off last year and went from a small idea of giving to a viral sensation that was featured on TV over 20 times as well as in over 80 stories on all mediums. That kind of attention made Miki Paczek realize they had hit on something that mattered to people and the CMI communication and brand manager acted on keeping it going.
“Last year it happened on Blue Monday, which is said to be the most depressing day of the year, totally by accident,” said Paczek. “The response was good, it seemed to go pretty well as it went along in the morning but then as the day went on we started seeing things popping up on social media with our hashtag #commonkindnessday. We were getting calls from media outlets and asked to speak about it and why it started, it was really neat to see that we were a part of something that was putting a smile on people’s faces.”
Caffeinated Kindness took and even better turn as hundreds of people who received the free coffee by showing up to the set locations ended up leaving money for the next person after the campaign was over, honouring the pay it forward mentality. Paczek said that with some of the money left by people actually had coffee shops able to give coffees away for a few days.
“Imagine going in to grab a coffee, traffic was crazy or the weather was bad, you’re running late for work and the day is brightened up when the person behind the counter says it’s on the house,” said Paczek. “That little moment could affect your whole day and in turn make you want to be kind to someone else, doing the same for their day; it’s a ripple effect and it feels really good when you’re a part of it.”
That ripple effect is a major part of Commonwell’s C.A.R.E. (Create A Ripple Effect) program that was started back in 2011. The program gives its time and money to community programs that need it. Paczek is happy to announce that Commonwell is going to push even further into their community spirit and have people make their suggestions on who needs the help that they know of.
“What we do is take from our premiums and give it to who needs it and we have proudly given to quite a few organizations,” said Paczek. “Tomorrow we will announce details of how you can suggest charities that you would like to see be on the receiving end of the C.A.R.E program and how we will help.”
While it is a company program, the Common Kindness Day initiative has become a sense of pride for Paczek and she is looking forward to watching the day play out on social media.
“I am so excited about it,” said Paczek. “From a personal standpoint, it is so nice to see and I’ve seen on social media where people have used the hashtag and said how they went and shovelled their neighbour’s driveway or helped a stranger some other way. It is heart warming to see that. We are not a big corporate giant and are very invested in the communities we are in so it truly is a big thing for us internally to do this. Everybody looks forward to it and I’m sure our offices will be buzzing on the day of.”
The Barrie Bean Counter at 49 Dunlop Street will be the local spot that will be handing out free coffees for the second year in a row and owner Adam Opert hopes that everyone will come out tomorrow to pass on the goodwill.
“The whole thing is a great concept and we were glad to be a part of it when they asked,” said Opert. “Last year being the first year was a little slower to start but if I remember correctly the weather was terrible. That said, people were leaving money to help pay it forward and I think as the day went on we ended up having three days worth of kindness; it was really a cool thing to see happen. I think the more the project continues the bigger it will become.”
To follow along with your acts of kindness, use the hashtag #commonkindnessday and help spread the word.
Click here for all the details.
