Coronavirus: LI Business Delivering Free Coffee To Hospitals

WANGAGH, NY—A popular Long Island coffee shop is doing its part to show gratitude to all the doctors, nurses and hospital staff working around the clock to help the many patients currently battling the coronavirus.

As their way of saying 'thank you,' Pipeline Coffee in Wantagh is delivering free coffee to local healthcare workers. This 'coffee movement' of sorts wouldn't be possible if not for the kindness of faithful customers donating money to fuel the cause, the coffee shop said. So far, the community hasn't disappointed. As of Monday, Pipeline Coffee has raised about $10,000.

"The outpouring of love our small business has seen has been tremendous. But even more impressive has been the love and generosity, sent to our front-line workers during these tough times. We are so proud to work in such giving, wonderful communities," the coffee shop recently posted on its Facebook page.

Along with donations, some loyal customers, like Matthew Kondrup, have gone a step further by even volunteering to help deliver coffee to various hospitals.

"Matt has been a customer of ours since day one, and become a great friend. From his dedicated work with the Wantagh Chamber of Commerce to his community service, Matty has really stepped up during this time of need," Michael Santo, co-founder of the coffee company, said.

According to Santo, the group, Support for Local Businesses & Frontline Workers, has also been instrumental in helping the coffee shop support its mission.

"They’ve been raising money as a group, and they’ve provided at least $1,000 worth of deliveries to Winthrop and other hospitals," Santo said. "Basically, they’ve ordered 40 egg sandwiches and six boxes of coffee from us three to four times, and they use the funds they’ve raised to send our way."

Since last week, the coffee company has provided about 125 boxes of coffee and hundreds of egg sandwiches to Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Franklin, Winthrop, St. Joseph’s and Mercy Hospital. According to Pipeline Coffee, nurses and doctors at the hospitals are grateful to receive the extra boost of caffeine to keep them going.

"Every single person who received coffee yesterday smiled, thanked us profusely and told us 'this is exactly what I needed,'" Santo said.

But it's not just the hospitals who are getting the extra jolt of caffeine needed to keep providing the essential services that residents so desperately depend on. Pipeline Coffee is also making its generous deliveries to first responders.

"We’ve delivered to firehouses and police stations," Santo told Patch. "And it will hopefully continue! We are delivering to the night crew EMS workers at LIJ tonight. I’ll be making that delivery with nurse Katie. She’s getting off work at 7 p.m., after working a 12-hour day, and still meets up with me to give back and fuel the night crew. She’s the real hero here. She’s been incredible."

To nominate hospitals or first responders to receive a free box of coffee, click here. For residents who are interested in donating money to help pay for the coffee sent to Long Island hospitals and first responders, they can send money via Venmo to @pipeline-Rvc or @pipeline-wantagh to make a donation. For additional information, residents can send an email to msanto@pipelinecoffeecompany.com.

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