TORONTO -- It was over a video call that nine cousins, all from different corners of the Greater Toronto Area, decided to do something nice for front-line workers in Ontario.
“Everyone was just home. Some of us were laid off, some of us were working from home [or] homeschooling our children,” Delanie Sammut, one the cousins, said. “We felt that [we] needed to give back to our everyday heroes.”
Sammut and his cousins created Coffee4Frontline, which is an initiative where hot coffee and baked goods are delivered to people working at hospitals, grocery stores and long-term care facilities.
The cousins each go to a location of their choosing and often making several drop-offs a day.
“Just seeing their faces, they’re so surprised that somebody would think of them,” Sammut tells CTV News Toronto. “I know that they’ve been working really long hours. So [it’s] just a small gesture to say thank you for all that they’ve been doing for us.”
Word of the initiative spread on platforms like Instagram and Facebook, and deliveries have been made possible thanks to the generosity of family members and friends donating to the cause.
“This has all been through social media platforms,” Sammut said. “Within the first week and half we had raised almost $4,000.”
The Coffee4Frontline initiative has been so successful that the cousins started donating to shelters, food banks and schools as well.
Sammut said the effort has brought she and her cousins closer together.
“We all live busy lives in different parts of the city,” she said.
“I think this has shown us what a small little impact we can do for those in need, and just really show our children that small gestures of kindness in our communities, they go very long ways.”
The organizers of Coffee4Frontline said they’ll keep the coffee runs going as long as they can.
“Really, we’re just so thankful,” Sammut said. “It’s just a small little way to give back to them so I think we’ll continue to do this.”
