Not much surprises me.
Not my children.
Not my dogs.
Not the economy.
Not politics.
Not traffic.
Not bad news.
Not good news.
But I have recently been surprised. Very surprised.
When we launched the One Cup Project, and finally got the store open and operable, I think we all expected orders to just come pouring in. At least I know that I expected it.
And why not? It is great coffee and a great cause combining to give a dollar for dollar donation.
But here we are a couple of weeks into it and orders are coming in – at a trickle. And that just really surprises me. What is it that stops people from pressing the button? Is it that they are afraid that they won’t like the coffee? Is it that it is more than they usually pay at say, Costco? Is it that they want to, but just haven’t taken the time? Or is it that they just don’t care about helping a country in need?
My hope is that there are thousands of people out there that really have been meaning to, but just haven’t taken the time. This can be overcome by a simple call to action. So here it is, your call to action. Imagine a bugle playing a snappy little tune.
Are you worried that you won’t like the coffee? Worry no more. The coffee is great. And it isn’t just me that thinks so. Silver Cup Coffee has won many awards for many of their different roasts. And if you ordered coffee and just found that you hated it (maybe because your tongue was recently scalded by acid, thereby rendering your taste buds completely wonky), I am sure that we could give you your money back.
Oh, so you buy your coffee at Costco and pay $5 or $7 a pound and $11 seems like too much. For one, our beans are much higher quality. Maybe you are satisfied with the quality of Costco coffee. Totally understandable. But what does Costco do with the profit from your coffee dollars? Line their pockets. What does the One Cup Project do? Turn it over to World Vision where it multiplies and then is used to feed starving people, dig wells, provide vaccines, and create self-supporting villages. The choice seems obvious to me, but maybe you still aren’t convinced. Maybe you say that you can’t afford to spend more on coffee. Do you buy even one drink at Starbucks a month? There’s $5. Do you buy a magazine that you don’t need? $4. I think you probably catch my drift here.
And finally, if the reason why you haven’t bought coffee from onecup.org is because you just don’t care? I have no answer for that. Do you?