Good Cause, Bad Coffee

Today's Tim Horton's Camp Day, which is a really good cause, so I encourage everyone to go out there and buy some bad coffee. All of the proceeds go to support sending kids to camp and this can be a really positive thing for kids who may otherwise not get the chance to go or get into trouble otherwise.

The coffee is below the calibre of real coffee served elsewhere which shall remain nameless, but unlike the other coffee places, it does charity right. Other organizations will donate to causes, but they will generally donate 10 cents from every purchase, which is better than nothing, but not by much. These companies could be shelling out more, since a day's worth of business won't hurt their bottom line that much and will create a lot of great PR to boot.

It's always a bit hypocritical of companies to do something for charity and then reveal that they're only giving a token to the cause. The Body Shop has also been guilty of this exercise in the past, waving big posters that support causes and only outline in very fine print that they're giving up 10%.

Everyone likes to feel good about the things that they buy because it's a really simple way to make a difference which doesn't ask us for a lot. We don't have to give up our time, our energy or a big cheque. That's why we try to go green at stores and buy their line of energy savings non carbon foot printing products and those reusable bags. We can also feel really socially responsible by associating ourselves with the stores that associate themselves with awareness, aid and eco-friendly living. It's all good and it's all win.

But when it comes to charity, companies can afford to be a little more generous and do things like Camp Day. Either go big or go home. We need more causes like this and we need more companies willing to give 100%. It makes us all want to do a little more and can only spread from there.