Veteran's Day
November 11, 2014
“Green Beans Coffee airlifts cargo containers into combat zones and converts them into clean, well-lit coffee shops where the troops can visit and relax between missions.”
I’ve described Green Beans and their mission many times since we started running their web operations in 2006, and finally settled on the above quote. Their story is unique and gets more interesting the further you dive in. It’s worth a look or a listen. There’s plenty of history in the press they garnered along the way:
View the New York Times article about the troops and their coffee, or this Wall Street Journal article (pdf), or this piece on Anderson Cooper’s 360.
Since we started, I’ve met several veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and they rarely fail to light up when I mention Green Beans. They usually confirm that Green Beans is the one place the troops can relax and get away from the chaos, in a place that reminds them of home.
Over the course of those eight years, we’ve become familiar with the lives of troops, to the extent you can from over here in the united states. We built an online donation platform that allows anyone in the United States to purchase coffee for the troops delivered as early as the next day. Many gifters become pen pals with troops, and we see the messages float from here to Iraq and Afghanistan and back. No matter where you land philosophically on warfare, it’s tough to not feel compassion for our troops. These folks voluntarily put themselves in harm’s way on our behalf and probably deserve our gratitude.
So we feel compelled to say thanks on Veterans Day and provide you with a few ways to donate. Of course you can always buy a Cup of Joe for a Joe for $2 or more. Here are some other ways to show thanks.
Troop Tree
http://www.trooptree.com/ TroopTree.com is a video communication tool to help military members stay in touch with friends and family. You can leave your own thank you video by visiting the site and clicking “Record a Thank You Video.”
Snowball Express
http://www.snowballexpress.org Snowball Express helps the children of the fallen with the help of Actor Gary Sinise, who is deeply involved in the organization. I can’t imagine a mission that is worthier.
Wounded Warrior Project
http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/ The name says everything. Donate to the Wounded Warrior Project and help veterans with physical injuries and the mental health fallout from combat including combat-related stress, major depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The website has some pretty good information and stats on who and how many they’ve helped since 9/11.