Tim Hortons Cafe & Bake Shop is celebrating National Random Acts of Kindness Week by picking up the bill for unknowing drive-thru customers for the third straight year.
Customers who receive their order for free will be given a coffee card good for one and a free medium coffee to pass along to someone else and keep “spreading kindness,” according to the bakery café chain.
Dubbed Random Cups of Kindness, the event takes place Feb. 11-17 in all U.S. markets at participating restaurants (the same timeframe as National Random Acts of Kindness Week). The chain plans to pick up the tab for customers in roughly 300 locations throughout the week.
The event was inspired in part by Tim Hortons customers themselves. Restaurant owners, managers and employees have reported customers paying for a stranger's order—especially during the morning rush when drive-thru lines are long.
"Our guests' generosity to one another continues to amaze and inspire us," Mike Meilleur, executive vice president, Tim Hortons U.S., said in a press release. "What started out as just a few instances of guests paying it forward here and there has now become a bit of a fun Tim Hortons tradition."
National Random Acts of Kindness Week was founded by the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation.