Deaf and hearing-impaired baristas at I Love Coffee almost had their aprons blown off recently thanks to an incredible gesture that left the coffee shop with a tip of R10 000!
Cape Town, South Africa (13 July, 2023) — Baristas and staff at a local coffee shop I Love Coffee almost had their aprons blown off recently thanks to an incredible gesture of unexpected kindness. The coffee shop—known for brewing not only top-tier coffee but community impact—couldn’t believe the generosity, sharing that sometimes kindness walks in unexpectedly.
I Love Coffee who are on a mission to make employment more accessible for the deaf community, are always grateful for support in the form of a coffee-loving visit. Every pop-in helps their journey toward inclusive employment as around 70% of their staff are hearing impaired.
However, coffee Samaritans stopped by for more than a cuppa on a special day in June, leaving I Love Coffee’s Gary Hopkins at a loss for words.
At the end of the work day, four men strolled in for a coffee meet. Gary tells Good Things Guy that they were the last customers of the day.
At the end of their meeting, the men casually asked for the bill before asking if they could add a donation. A R10 000 donation at that!
“We were all literally dumbstruck. I’m not sure what prompted the donation, but we think that they were moved by the video footage we show in store of our staff winning various barista and cooking competitions,” shares Gary.
“Of course, everyone was delighted and we are spending the money on new chefs jackets and uniforms. We are in the process of opening our training academy so the timing was perfect and all I could manage to say was ‘Thank you! Do you realise what a difference you are making to our organisation’?”
The men didn’t even tell the shop who they were until Gary asked.
Leaving a donation of R10 000 is no small change, but for these cafe-goers from Libra Walk Essential Services, it was a worthy why to support the cause. Better yet, the company even decided to open their own I Love Coffee cafe for their office which will employ even more people from the hearing impaired community!
While you might not have a tip of that magnitude to add, you can still show support for the I Love Coffee shop simply by enjoying their brew.
Bonus? You get to use South Africa’s 12th official language sign when you visit.
Or, if you’re looking for other social enterprises that serve treats and communities in Cape Town, check out some of our favourite picks.
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