April 22, 2010 | tagged Deployment, Gifts Roasted with Gratitude: Give a $2 cup of Green Beans Coffee to a G.I. Joe (or Jane)
Talk about a perk-me-up: For just $2, you can give a deployed service member a much-needed caffeine fix through “Cup of Joe for a Joe.” The program was brewed up by Green Beans Coffee, which operates coffee shops on U.S. military bases at home and abroad, including about 45 shops in Afghanistan and Iraq. (For all you closet Army Wife fans, Claudia Joy and Roxy stopped at a Green Beans Coffee shop on the fictional Fort Marshall Army base during last Sunday’s episode.)
About 95 percent of the gifts though "Cup of Joe for a Joe" are delivered in Iraq and Afghanistan. The remainder go to those deployed in support of OIF or OEF in Kuwait, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, and Djibouti, Africa, where Green Beans Coffee also has shops.
Buying a coffee is simple. Go to the Cup of Joe section of the Green Beans Coffee website, make a purchase of one or more $2 cups of coffee, and write a message to the recipient. Your gift triggers an email that is sent — with your note — to a randomly picked service member who has signed up for the program. The service member can then head to his or her nearby Green Beans to pick up a free coffee, courtesy of you.
Now, the soldier can use that $2 credit for coffee, of course, or a tea. But some use it to offset the cost of a MOAC, or “Mother of All Coffees.” This signature Green Beans Coffee drink is guaranteed to keep our forces on high alert. It is four shots of espresso topped with the house blend coffee and served in a giant 24-ounce cup.
The Cup of Joe program has a nice bonus: The soldiers often write back to you. I bought five cups of coffee for $10 and within a week received three thank-you emails in return.
Their mothers taught them well: Most recipients of a Cup of Joe send messages of thanks like this sweet one that landed in our in-box. (We blacked out the name of the airman who emailed it.)
Anyone deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) or Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) from any military branch can sign up to receive a Cup of Joe, including our NATO allies, says Clay Lingo of Green Beans Coffee. So while about 98 percent of the gifts go to Americans, don’t be too surprised if you get a thank-you email from a British or Italian soldier serving in Afghanistan.
Order a cup today: It’ll warm you as much as a mocha latte.
Military morsel: G.I. Joe is a nickname for a U.S. soldier that dates back to WWII. (G.I. is short for “government issue.”) Who coined the term G.I. Joe? Lieutenant Dave Breger, who needed a title for a cartoon strip he began drawing in 1942 for an Army magazine. In a 1945 letter to Time magazine he explained the origin of the name: “… I decided on ‘G.I. Joe,’ the ‘G.I.’ because of its prevalence in Army talk … and the ‘Joe’ for alliterative effect. My cartoon hero’s full name was ‘G.I. Joe Trooper.’ ”
Reader Comments (1)
This is a great way to show our support for those serving overseas. I have sent 2 Cup Of Joe donations, and let me tell you , there is NO better way to spend your money!!! The thanks you receive from the soldiers bring tears to my eyes. What a great idea Green Beans Coffee has!! I urge all to buy a cup of joe for those deployed.