A note—we talk about mental health and illness extensively throughout this episode. If that’s something you don’t want to hear about, you might want to skip this episode.

Iyasu Dusé is the founder of the True Community Foundation, a non-profit organization that aims to end childhood hunger and dispel misconceptions around mental health. These two issues might not seem to have much in common, but as Iyasu discusses in this episode, everything is connected—including his larger mission and the work he does in and around coffee.

Iyasu is also the founder of Dusé Coffee, and it was always part of his plan to incorporate coffee into his community service work. For Iyasu, coffee shops are more than places to sip well-made drinks—more, even, than community hubs. Coffee itself is a platform for social change. Even in the simplest ways—from a sign in the window welcoming everyone in to a message printed on a bag of beans—coffee has the potential to promote wider societal change.

Though Iyasu’s goals might seem far-reaching and monumental, he’s also a proponent of small moments of change. With members of the True Community Foundation, he visits coffee shops and passes out messages of encouragement to patrons. To hand someone a piece of paper that says, “You are enough” and “You are loved” can make a difference in someone else’s day, someone else’s life.

What unites both his bigger goals and smaller initiatives is that they center around coffee—which is unsurprising, given that Iyasu recognizes and utilizes the vast potential coffee has to change the world. As you listen to this episode, I hope you feel inspired to go back to the coffee shop you either work in or frequent and find a way to spark change—and share kindness.

One more note: Please listen all the way through this episode for updates on some of the projects we chat about. Since we recorded this episode, some of the dates of a few of these projects have shifted.