A local mystery benefactor is giving away 100 free coffees Tuesday at Barrie Bean Counter to mark Ontario's first Common Kindness Day.
The coffee giveaway tomorrow at the Dunlop Street East cafe is part of a province-wide swath of niceness at 10 coffee shops that will serve complementary caffeine to a total of 1,000 patrons.
The event starts at 8 a.m. at the Barrie Bean Counter with the first 100 people through the door but the free coffee comes with one catch: each person to receive a free coffee is asked to pay the kindness forward to another local.
The local benefactor, who wants to be anonymous, founded the unofficial holiday Common Kindness Day to encourage Ontarians to appreciate the small acts of kindness that happen every day and pay them forward to others in their community.
“We created Common Kindness Day because we firmly believe in the kindness of strangers and the importance of creating strong community bonds,” the mystery benefactor said in a news release. “We’ve collaborated with some of the best independent coffee shops across Ontario to kick-start the acts of goodwill by buying patrons their morning brew. It will be exciting to see how the acts of kindness ripple throughout Barrie after that.”
“This day is about bolstering community spirit and paying it forward. Everyone who receives a free beverage is encouraged to find a way to pay that small kindness forward – treat another stranger to their cup of coffee, or find some other way to make someone’s day a little brighter. Whatever people choose to do, we only hope that they do it with kindness.”
Barrie Bean Counter owners Alana Corkery and Adam Opert jumped at the chance to be part of the kindness marketing campaign.
"We were thrilled to participate as it's right up our alley, an event to bring the community together, and maybe even ignite some dwindled holiday spirit that tends to get left behind after the holidays," said Corkery. "We think it's a great idea! It feels good to have someone do something nice for you, even as simple as buy a coffee. It would be amazing if it inspired a whole group of people to do something nice for others and the trend continued."
Patrick McCaully of Pointman! Public Relations represents the benefactor and says the cafes will pass out a card to every customer who gets a free coffee encouraging them to pay it forward by buying another coffee for someone else.
There's no obligation but the benefactor is hoping kindness will catch on.
“There are many wonderful cities and towns across Ontario where residents anonymously pay it forward every day through acts of volunteerism, charity and kindness. Our mysterious benefactor wanted to celebrate this and spark additional acts of common kindness in these communities," McCaully said.
The other participating cafes are: The Quirky Carrot in Alexandria, Brake Room in Belleville, The Grind in Cornwall, Boiling Over's Coffee Vault in Lindsay, Grounded Coffee in Midland, Origin Trade Café in Ottawa Centre, Coutts Coffee in Perth, Kyoto Coffee in Peterborough and 3 Steps Up Café in Whitby.
