Thanks, and a Cup of Joe for a Joe – KansasCity.com

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Barbara Cramer chuckles at the inequity:

Someone goes to war, risking their life for their country. she in turn buys them a cup of coffee.

“But that’s about all I can do,” said Cramer, who lives in south Kansas City.

“It does, though, break my heart when I hear back from them. considering what they do for me, and they are so thankful for that cup of coffee.”

Cramer is big into Cup of Joe for a Joe, a program sponsored by Green Beans Coffee, a California-based company which operates more than 70 coffee shops on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For $2, anyone can go on line and buy a cup of coffee for anyone deployed. Soldiers, Marines and other military personnel — of any allied country — sign up to receive the certificates.

Cramer, who is retired, spends about $30 each month. That’s a cup of coffee for 15 service members she’s never met unless and until they send her a thank-you.

Most do. Here’s an example:

“I can’t tell you how much it means to us over here when people back home do things like this. It’s the little things that make a big difference in our day-to-day lives of fighting this war. your gratefulness combined with your kindness and generosity is what keeps us going.”

Green Beans spokesperson Wendy Hoffman said more than 125,000 cups of coffee have been purchased through Cup of Joe since the program began. many cups have led to continuing pen-pal correspondence, she said.

Cramer wanted to do more. So she recently hosted a charity meal at Elks Lodge no. 26 in south Kansas City, where she is a member.

The event raised $500, or in her world, 250 cups of coffee.

“To Elks Lodge #26, thank you for the coffee. The support we receive from back home through these small acts makes a long deployment away from family and friends a little more bearable.”

“It moves me to tears that we are not truly forgotten out here on our own, and that alone gives me strength to move forward and complete the task before us as U.S Marines. A big OOHRAH! to you and yours.”

Anyone who wants to participate in the program should go to www.greenbeanscoffee.com/com.

To reach Donald Bradley, call 816-234-4182 or send e-mail to dbradley@kcstar.com

Thanks, and a Cup of Joe for a Joe - KansasCity.com

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