Hi, everyone! Kim has been kind enough to let me (Maddy) take a break from the party talk for a minute for something a little more serious that we’re both passionate about, and I hope you’ll join us.

Like most, last week was incredibly difficult for me. The terrifying events in Boston brought back memories of my time in New York during 9/11 (I’m a Queens gal who moved to Long Island as a preteen), and the tragedy in West, Texas made me hug my daughter a little tighter.

On Friday evening, my husband tuned into an online feed of the Boston Police Department’s scanner and joined 150,000 other people as they found the second suspect. My stomach did flips the entire time – I am certainly not cut out to be in uniform. As the 150,000 listening with us grew into 2 million, and the situation became more intense, I thought of our police officers, fire fighters, and other first responders, and the courage and commitment it takes to walk out the door every day, not knowing if you’ll come home. When “Suspect in Custody!” came over the scanner, I felt a rush of emotion, and decided that I wanted to do something to let them know that we appreciate them every day. I put out a call on Twitter for everyone to join me in buying a police officer a cup of coffee to thank them for all they do – and there was such a response to it, we’re going to make it into a formal movement. I hope you’ll join us.

What to Do: Buy a cup of coffee for a local fire fighter, police officer, or other first responder when you come across one. Approach them and explain that you’d like to buy them one out of appreciation for their service, and ask what they’d like or have them escort you to a coffee shop. On the run, or shy? Get a gift card with the approximate value of a cup of coffee (or more!) to a local or chain coffee shop and keep it on hand.

Spread the Word: Let everyone know you’re participating so we can engage more people. If you have a blog, post a note about it. If you’ve bought a cup of coffee for someone, Instagram it with the hashtag #cupsforcops – share your gift card photos, too!

A Thank You for You: If you’ve participated by reposting it on your blog, e-mail me. I’ll include links to everyone’s posts on Friday to return the favor for getting the word out.

Printable: I’ve created a printable gift card sleeve for those who want to spread the love that way. It’s designed to fit a Starbucks gift card. It has a note on the back explaining what we’re doing as well as a place to write your name, so the first responder you share it with has a momento of your token of appreciation. You can download it over at my post on Somewhere Splendid.

Thanks for your time, everyone. We are so proud of our folks who work every day to keep us safe, so we hope you’ll join us in showing them support.