It’s Sunday, April 12, 2020. Easter Sunday.

But it’s not like any Easter most of us have seen before.

Social distancing. Shelter-in-place. The majority of the Bay Area is now cooped up in their houses. But elsewhere, our director of coffee, Michael, is doing something else. He is closely observing the brewing of Counter Culture’s Hologram blend. Drip, drip, drip – the dark color of the soulful drink slowly fills the pot.

This is no ordinary day. Coffee is brewed as normal, but where is its destination? It cannot be the typical guests we have here at Living Room – it’s Sunday, the shop is closed (special hours because of the shelter-in-place). So, what is Michael planning?

“You cheer for us. We cheer for you.” This slogan was first used by the San Jose Sharks last year during ad campaign. However, Michael has since been obsessed with this idea. “How can we cheer for you?” he asked himself. And this is where he started.

This past Sunday, he, with the gracious help of Karinda, the communications director of Living Room’s neighbor – Home Church, called together a volunteer team from Living Room Coffee Craft, the Home Church of Campbell, and community of the good city of Campbell. Their goal? To bring a cup of liquid cheer to local healthcare workers! That is where these freshly brewed pots of Hologram coffee are headed!

This Easter Sunday – this team visited the staff of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, located only a couple of miles away from Living Room. Armed with masks, gloves, a change of clothes, and lots of hand sanitizer, the group was brimming with excitement for the trip.

When the team pulled up at the hospital, a few of the staff were already outside receiving a food donation from another generous local business. “Coffee.”  That one word turned heads. Ears perked. Eyes lit up. Who knew that a simple cup of caffeine could generate so much excitement? It goes without saying that the healthcare workers are very thankful for all the donations from generous local restaurants. While the hospital does have a cafeteria, many of its staff were instructed to stay home, making food and drink less accessible than normal.

The team was able to talk with one of their chief doctors for a few minutes, and he shared about the state of the hospital and the morale of the workers. Things are difficult, but he believes the shelter-in-place we currently practice has helped flatten the curve significantly. However, flattening the curve still requires time – the longer we respect social distancing and shelter-in-place the better our hope we have for combating this pandemic.

In a time when there is not much that most people can do besides stay at home, the community are itching to find ways to help those who are giving their all to fight the pandemic and save lives. And no one is working harder and more selflessly than the healthcare staff who put themselves at risk to care for those who are sick. We aim to continue visiting hospitals and doing what we can to cheer them on.

Do your part – continue respect the 6 feet social distancing guideline and the shelter-in-place mandate. And we’ll get through this soon. Help support local small businesses, if you can, by ordering takeout! We’re always here to support your caffeine needs and your sugar tooth, Monday thru Saturday, 8 am – 3pm.

You cheer for us. We cheer for you. We’re in this together, community.

Next up – O’Connor Hospital.