It started with a simple idea: a cup of coffee.
But not just any coffee—this cup came with purpose.
At LifeGrain, we took a step beyond just serving caffeine; we ignited something much more meaningful.
Across hospitals like Prince of Wales, Sutherland, Liverpool, Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai, and at the UNSW Kensington campus, we gave away 2,248 cups of free coffee with one powerful condition: that the second cup be shared with someone else and accompanied by a conversation. A conversation that began with a single question: “R U OK?”
This isn’t just a campaign. It’s an act of courage. And as Gavin Larkin, the founder of R U OK? Day said, “In the time it takes to have a cuppa, you could start a conversation that could change a life.”
We’re not talking about selling more coffee; we’re talking about human connection, the kind that reminds us all why we do what we do—every day, in every café, in every conversation.
Why does it matter? Because in hospitals, where we spend our days serving staff, patients, and visitors, silence can be louder than the noise. These spaces, bustling with life and urgency, are also places where mental health often goes unchecked.
We’re proud that our cafes, within these very hospitals, became places not just to refuel but to reconnect. With each coffee, we didn’t just serve a drink—we served the possibility of change, of breaking the isolation someone may have been feeling.
2,248 coffees. And each one of them? A potential life touched. That’s 2,248 conversations, maybe more, that got someone thinking about how they could check in on a friend, a colleague, or even a stranger. Each interaction, a reminder that asking “R U OK?” is powerful.
It’s simple, and yet, it’s deeply human.
And what we learned from this campaign is that people are willing, even eager, to make that small gesture when given the chance.
Our cafes, located in some of the busiest hospitals in Sydney, became the backdrop for these moments. Places like Prince of Wales Hospital, which serves not only its own staff but also those from the Royal Hospital for Women and Sydney Children’s Hospital, saw countless staff and visitors pause, grab a coffee, and start a conversation.
Over at Sutherland and Liverpool Hospitals, and even at Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Hospital, the act of giving away a second coffee was more than just a promotion—it was an invitation to connect in environments where stress is high, and emotional exhaustion is real.
This is what a crowd of around 2,000+ people look like. Together we helped make a difference to these many individuals if not more. Small gesture > BIG Impact.
And what about our customers? The nurses, doctors, patients, and visitors? They embraced this wholeheartedly. We saw faces light up as they passed along their second cup, sometimes to someone they knew, sometimes to someone they didn’t.
And it reminded us of something critical: that asking “R U OK?” doesn’t just happen one day a year. It’s something we should do every day. As the R U OK? Day campaign reminds us, “A conversation could change a life.”
Looking back, this wasn’t just about offering free coffee.
It was about being there—in the right places, with the right intention. It was about realizing that our cafes could be more than just spaces for transactions. They could be spaces where meaningful connections happen. Places where, even in the middle of a busy hospital, someone feels seen, heard, and cared for.
In a world where we often feel too busy to check in on one another, this promotion was our way of making time—of saying that it matters. Because it does. And as we move forward, we hope these conversations continue.
Because if a single cup of coffee can start a dialogue, who knows what else it can do?
At LifeGrain, we’re not just serving food and coffee; we’re serving moments that matter.
And we’ll keep doing it, one cup at a time.
If you or someone close to you is experiencing an emergency, or is at immediate risk of harm, call triple zero (000). To talk to someone now, call Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.