Yesterday, we were in the Starbucks on Battleground at Mill Street and someone was handing out $5.00 Starbucks gift cards.  The person who handed it to us simply said, “have a coffee on us.”  They also handed a card to others in line and zipped out the door. The hashtag, #alatteloveforJustin was written on the gift cards, making it easy to get Justin’s back story.* Justin T. Sharpe was born on February 23, 1984 and graduated in 2001 from Caldwell Academy in Greensboro. Unfortunately in 2012, Justin died unexpectedly. Every year on Justin’s birthday, his mom and others who loved him treat people to Starbucks coffee. 

Justin worked at Starbucks, so the Starbucks cards are significant. He loved visiting Starbucks stores, including the original one in Seattle. It was so meaningful to have serendipitously been handed a card yesterday and to then learn Justin’s story.  What a wonderful way to remember someone. Justin would have been 36 yesterday. We’ve got our calendars marked for February 23rd, 2021 so that we can be on the giving end of #alatteloveforJustin. Hopefully, his family will see this post. 

* See Justin’s (Winston-Salem, NC) obituary, here.