Mass. Company Giving Out 1,000 Pounds Of Coffee, 10,000 Tin Ties To Make Coronavirus Masks
BOSTON (CBS) – Dean's Beans Organic Coffee is using caffeine to show compassion during the coronavirus crisis.
"A pound of coffee doesn't change a person's life but it helps it makes people feel better," owner Dean Cycon told WBZ-TV.
The local coffee roaster describes itself as a social justice company that uses coffee to creative positive change around the world. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, they decided to start up a campaign called "Thousand Pounds of Light."
"We're sending out 1,000 points of light in the form of coffee to cheer people up. It doesn't hurt to have a free pound of coffee if you've lost your job, anything helps," Cycon said.
Customers can visit Dean's Beans website and nominate someone to receive a free one pound bag of coffee.
"We've gotten so many responses not only from the people who sent the coffee but the people who receive the coffee about how meaningful it's been to them just to get a pound of coffee," Cycon said.
The company is also donating thousands of coffee tin ties after a customer told them she was using the small, but sturdy pieces of metal to make masks.
"We sent her out 10 and then we realized this is great. We put out the word on social media that we were offering free tin ties for anyone who was making masks and not selling them. So far in the last 2-and-half weeks we've given 10,000 tin ties, that's 10,000 masks. The tin tie may not seem like a big deal but it actually allows you to hold the mask tighter to the nose so you get a much better fit. And it stops the mask from going up and down," Cycon explained.
The tin tie masks are going to local firefighters, police, first responders, medical workers, homeless youth and postal workers. The company also donated thousands of the ties to "Stitchworks," in Brooklyn, New York.
"It's a small contribution but it means a lot to the mask makers and it means a lot to the people wearing them. It's beautiful to see where these silly little tin ties are going and how much good they're doing."
Dean's Beans has been roasting coffee for 26 years and has a location in Orange, Massachusetts. Cycon says luckily they have been able to remain open, keeping all 15 employees on staff.
"I think all of us feel a little helpless and overwhelmed by the coronavirus. This tin tie thing shows us all that there's some little thing we can all do and can make a very big difference. It may be the 2,000 pounds of light or the 3,000 pounds of light by the time were done," said Cycon.
