Good NewsTim Hortons generosity keeps spreading, hits Toronto
Last week, we reported on the wave of copycat generosity hitting Tim Hortons stores across the country.
After an anonymous man bought 500 large coffees for unsuspecting customers at an Edmonton Tim Hortons last week, at least four other good Samaritans did the same.
It didn't end there.
That free coffee movement has now hit Toronto.
On Monday afternoon, a pregnant couple walking into Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital's Tim Hortons and told the cashier they wanted to pay for the next 500 small double-doubles.
They paid the $751 in cash and refused to give their names.
"I've been here 23 years and I've never seen anything like this," Tim Hortons manager Rob Reale told the Toronto Star. "They said the service here was incredible, so they just wanted to give back to our staff."
[ More Lighter Side: After finding cash on a sidewalk, Toronto man gives Tim Hortons worker $100 tip ]
The free coffee ran out by 10:38 a.m. the next morning. Reale said that the store donated an extra 60 to 80 coffees to the happy customers who walked away with "an extra skip in their hop."
The free coffee inspired more generosity. By mid-afternoon on Tuesday, a construction worker who heard the story on the news donated $200, or 133 more coffees.
The National Post reports that more than 10,000 free coffees have now been purchased across the country, paid for at 28 locations. All coffee donors have remained anonymous so far.
Tim Hortons continues to insist that this nationwide free-coffee phenomenon is not an elaborate publicity stunt. It's just good will gone viral.
Spokesperson Michelle Robichaud says that many of the customers who received free coffees donated their spare change to the Tim Hortons Children's Foundation, which sends disadvantaged kids to summer camp.
"There's no question that there’s an endless list of many wonderful and deserving causes these people could donate to, but the good news is that by purchasing 500 cups of coffee at each of these locations, not only are they putting smiles on 500 peoples' faces...but those same people who are getting free coffee for the day are often donating their money. That money goes to kids in need," she told the National Post.
Has a stranger ever paid for your coffee? Share your story in the comments.
