To mark Random Acts of Kindness Day on 17 February, Campos Coffee cafés around Australia will be randomly giving away 70,000 cups of coffee for Aussies to use as a kind treat for themselves or someone else.
New research from Campos Coffee has revealed one in three Australians believe kindness is key to helping us feel connected once again, with nearly half (44 per cent) having witnessed more random acts of kindness than ever before in their local communities over the past 12 months.
It would seem local coffee cafés and shops have been at the centre of these many unifying moments. According to the Campos Coffee Group findings, three in four Aussies (78 per cent) are happy to shout someone a coffee, “just because”, and more than a quarter (27 per cent) have even done so for a total stranger.
“Over the past 19 years, Campos has grown into one of the most loved coffee brands in Australia, serving over 10 million Aussies a year. Our success comes down to the kind support our café partners receive from their local communities and the many meaningful connections they forge there,” says Campos Coffee Founder Will Young.
“Randomly giving away 70,000 free coffees this Random Acts of Kindness Day is not only our Campos Café way of saying a big thank you, it’s also our ambition to continue fuelling this kindness and connection. Ultimately our goal is to bring us all back together again after a year that’s felt overwhelmingly disconnected.”
After a tumultuous 2020 and an uncertain start to 2021, it’s no surprise that just under half of Australians (44 per cent) – the equivalent of 9 million – still feel lonelier or starved of connection more than ever, and aren’t feeling hopeful about the year to come (47 per cent).
Yet, in the spirit of seeing the glass half-full, Aussies are recognising the small and simple acts that have helped them through the past year, which they intend to continue practising to help them navigate 2021:
- Displaying or being on the receiving end of more kindness and consideration for others (61 per cent)
- Taking advantage of opportunities to spend quality time with loved ones (59 per cent)
- Being kinder to ourselves (37 per cent)
Front and centre of these important life lessons are local coffee cafés and shops, with four in 10 (38 per cent) Australians visiting more over the last 12 months and half (51 per cent) spending more on local businesses.
It’s no wonder a quarter of Aussies (23 per cent) agree their local coffee café or shop has helped them stay connected, with half (50 per cent) revealing the daily trip helped them through the tough days and 39 per cent saying it provided them with an opportunity to connect with their local community. For some (22 per cent), there were times when their local coffee café or shop was the only place that provided genuine human interaction and connection.
To find a local Campos Café, visit www.camposcoffee.com/cafe-finder
Other interesting findings from the Campos Coffee Group survey include:
- More than three quarters (77 per cent) of Aussies say witnessing, displaying or being on the receiving end of random acts of kindness has changed their perception of the world.
- Millennials (61 per cent) are most likely to have spent more with local businesses in the past 12 months.
- Millennials (57 per cent) and Gen Z (49 per cent) are more likely to feel lonelier and starved of connection than ever before, compared to Baby Boomers (34 per cent) and the Silent Generation (29 per cent).
- Millennials (49 per cent) and Gen Z (43 per cent) are likely to have visited their local coffee café or coffee shop more in the past 12 months, in comparison to Baby Boomers (28 per cent) and the Silent generation (22 per cent).
- Victorians are likely to say they visited their local coffee café or coffee shop more often than Queenslanders, as it provided them with the opportunity to connect with their local community (49 per cent compared to 30 per cent) and it was a daily ritual that broke up their day (38 per cent compared to 22 per cent).
- Victorians (46 per cent) are more likely to say they would definitely be happy to shout someone a coffee as a random act of kindness, in comparison to NSW residents (38 per cent).
- Women (83 per cent) are happier to shout someone a coffee as a random act of kindness than men (72 per cent).
- Women (81 per cent) are more likely than men (71 per cent) to say random acts of kindness have changed their perception of the world – in particular that small acts of kindness can make a big difference (53 per cent vs. 37 per cent) and that acts of kindness are important in helping vulnerable people (39 per cent vs. 27 per cent).
