For many Americans, grabbing a coffee from Starbucks is a morning ritual. For 69-year-old Dan Dewey, it's a mission of kindness. Every Thursday around 10:30 in the morning, Dan walks into his local Starbucks, takes out a list, and proceeds to order anywhere from 12 to 24 drinks — but they're not all for himself. These drinks are for the patients receiving chemotherapy at the Michigan Cancer Institute.
Dan doesn't work at the hospital or the Starbucks. He doesn't even have a relative receiving hospital care. Still, he spends his money buying coffee for complete strangers, then hauling them back and handing them out without fail.
Dan's Coffee Run began when Dan brought a cup of Starbucks to his father, who was once a chemo patient Michigan Cancer Institute. One afternoon, he decided to buy everyone receiving treatment a drink of their choice at the Starbucks down the road. Dan’s father has since passed away. Before he died, he told Dan to keep the tradition alive.
Read on to meet this incredible man, and to see the real impact he's had on nurses and patients alike…
Every Thursday for more than three years, a 69-year-old man named Dan Dewey has been ordering dozens of Starbucks coffees and hauling them back to the Michigan Cancer Institute, for anyone in the mood for a coffee of their choice.
Dan carries the stacked trays with precision, powers through the doors, boards the elevator and arrives to the nurses and patients who shower him with a round of applause.
He writes down the extensive list of orders ahead of time, and makes sure not to miss one single detail. Extra sugar for Sam? Check. Double espresso for Lisa? Check. Each patient is different, and so is each coffee!
Dan uses his own money to pay for the coffees. Every week, it runs him anywhere from $40 to $75, depending on how many "frou-frou" drinks are ordered.
Valerie, a Starbucks barista who regularly fills Dan's orders, says, "I look forward to filling his order on Thursdays and seeing his smiling face. After three years of people asking about why this man buys so many drinks, me telling them the story and them asking how they can donate, I came up with an idea. I would get a custom Starbucks card, with “Dan’s Coffee Run” on it for anyone who would like to donate money that will go directly to purchasing drinks for the patients of MCI."
Not even the frigid Detroit winters — or Dan's bad knee — keep this hero from bringing a touch of warmth and happiness to people who need it the most.
Before Dan's father passed away, he asked his son to keep the weekly tradition alive... and Dan hasn't let him down since.
Dan's dedication and selflessness is enough to restore anyone's faith in humanity. We should all be a little more like him! If you agree, please SHARE this story with your friends on Facebook!
