By Kate Reynolds
Students and faculty at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, love the coffee they drink at the campus’s Starbucks. Here’s proof that they love their barista more.
Since 1976, Karen Collinsworth, 65, has lived near the college university. She’s been the campus Starbucks supervisor and barista, supervising a young staff for 13 years.
Cassie Gray, a sophomore at Marshall, works with Karen.
“I love knowing that she’s gonna be there. Gray said, “I talk to her about literally everything, knowing that she’s going to help me work through whatever.”
One day, Karen needed help. She owned a 2004 Kia Amanti that had seen better days. Many times, neighbors had to give her a jump-start because of the battery. But one day, she discovered a thief had stolen the catalytic converter, worth hundreds of dollars on the black market. That was just the beginning of her bad luck with the car. A few days later, thieves broke into her vehicle and stole several items from its interior.
“She actually has had car problems probably the entire time I’ve known her,” Gray says. “But Karen doesn’t like to talk about it because she didn’t want people feeling bad for her or anything like that.”
When her coworkers, colleagues, and coffee-loving customers heard about Karen’s misfortune, they took matters into their own hands.
“Us baristas were talking, and we decided it would be amazing to try to get Karen a reliable vehicle,” Jaiden Horn, 19, a sophomore and fellow Starbucks employee, told the Washington Post.
In late August, Gray, Horn, and a few other baristas saw a post on the anonymous social media app YikYak wishing they could donate some money to Karen to help her out.
“We all just kind of talked about it, and we floated around the idea of starting a fundraiser for her,” Gray says. “After work, when I got back to my dorm, I decided to just make it because I figured even if we couldn’t raise that much money, any amount would help her. It was just kind of like a spur of the moment (thing).”
What started as a concerned barista conversation became a fundraising venture. The “Anonymous Baristas” created a GoFundMe page, “We love you, Karen.” The goal was to raise $10,000. The baristas hoped that people would maybe donate the cost of a couple of Venti lattes. The page was shared on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and Yik Yak.
The baristas met their goal within the first 24 hours. But, to everyone’s surprise, it only took the “Anonymous Baristas” days to raise four times that amount. Over 1,200 people donated an impressive $40,115 before the organizers turned off the campaign. The highest donation was $5,000 from Marshall University president Brad Smith, but more than 12,000 donations were much smaller.
“All the $5 donations meant more to me than $1,000 or $3,000,” Karen said. “It was just precious coming from these college kids who can’t afford a cup of coffee. Just goes to show you their kindness.”
In the GoFundMe description, the baristas wrote: “Beloved Starbucks supervisor, Karen, deserves all the love and happiness in the world! If everyone donated $5-10, even $1, we could help her buy a working car and ensure she wouldn’t have to worry about monthly bills. This way, she can continue doing what she loves (connecting with Starbucks customers) without worrying about monthly expenses :).”
Karen’s coworkers felt the fundraiser was successful because of “the amount of people she has touched throughout her entire life.” Comments on the GoFundMe and the university’s Facebook pages prove they were right.
“We’ve known Karen for years,” wrote one person who contributed $50. “… She always took care of us. She ‘mothered’ Lauren and Kelly while they worked at Starbucks. She’s an angel!”
“Karen always made me smile when I came into Starbucks every day! She knew my name and my order by heart,” another person wrote. “She really cared about everyone who came through the doors.”
“I remember Karen. I remember when I graduated in 2013, and I was going to the campus Starbucks for a final latte and to say goodbye, and she gave me a great hug across the counter.”
Many more commented on Karen’s kindness and making a difference in their day.
“Karen is the BEST woman ever!!!!! She always brightens my day “
“KAREN at the campus Starbucks literally was the kindest soul I’ve ever met. She made my college experience so much better. So many early morning conversations and iced coffees in that Starbucks while I studied.”
Once the baristas closed the fundraiser, they had planned to surprise Karen. Instead, a neighbor told her the news. And what was Karen’s response to what her coworkers had started?
“I was taken aback when I found out. It was very overwhelming. I knew these kids loved me because I love them,” Karen said. “But for them to be 19-year-old college students … They have so much going on in their life, but then to take care of their Starbucks mom, Karen. That’s just how big their hearts are.”
Karen was originally going to fix her car with the money. But with the help of her daughter, Lindsay, she now owns a Kia Sportage.
There is a saying, “The best way to get love is to give it.”
“I know those kids love me, and that’s what makes my life worthwhile,” Karen told freelancer Joseph Lamour.
And that’s your good news of the day.