Customers at Cadence Coffee have been embracing the opportunity to treat their fellow Calgarians while making their drink purchases.
A handmade ‘Pay It Forward’ chart, adorned with hearts and smiling faces, has been placed on a wall inside the Bowness Road diner, allowing customers to purchase an extra drink for someone in need or down on their luck.
According to the chart, anyone who is ‘feeling down on luck or low in change’ may treat themselves to one of the listed pre-bought drinks with the hope the recipient will choose to ‘pay it forward’ in the future.
Brittany Clark, who works as a barista/server at Cadence Coffee, brought the idea to management after encountering an inspirational story on social media.
“I was kind of inspired by this article I saw on Facebook of a man in New York City who did it at a pizza shop for people who are experiencing homelessness and can’t afford food,” said Clark. “He has a big chalkboard on his wall and they put all the pieces of pizza available that people can go and redeem.”
“I wanted to start with coffee and see if it takes off and hopefully maybe go to food one day.”
The chart has been a fixture near the coffee shop’s register for a few months and Clark says response to the idea has been overwhelmingly positive.
“We haven’t had too many people redeem it but more people are buying.”
Clark hopes to expand the pay it forward project to include food purchases in the near future.
