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.
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