2014 Overflow Memberships Now Available! (and more)

Get 10% off everything you purchase from Overflow Coffee Bar with a 2014 Membership for only $50.00.

• The discount includes: food, drink, t-shirts, tumblers, fair trade gift items and more! The discount does not apply to catering orders since those are already discounted.  If you spend $10 a week or more on average at Overflow, a membership will pay for itself and then some over the course of the year. $10 is the equivalent of a small coffee each day Monday through Friday or a sandwich and latte on the weekend. It's also great for those who purchase coffee for brewing at home!
• Members also get extra perks that no one else receives. This includes: 
• VIP seating at documentary film screenings! 
• VIP access and discounts at our 3 Year Anniversary celebrations. 
• The card is valid from the time of purchase through December 31, 2014. 
• Only a limited number of cards are available. 
• A single membership is only valid for 1 person. No sharing. 
• To get your card, 
• Purchase it when you come into Overflow next.  Be ready to pay $50 via cash or credit.
• Purchase it online right now and we'll mail it to you.  Click here or use the button to the right.
• Overflow Membership makes a great gift.  If you’re interested in giving a membership as a gift, please note that when you're purchasing it. 
• If you have any questions, contact Amanda at amanda@overflowcoffeebar.org or (312) 772-2356. 

But wait there's more!  

If you purchase a membership, you might be curious to know what we're going to do with your $50.00.  We're doing some other fundraising too because here's what we'd love to do:

• If we reach 80 memberships (or raise $4,000 total), we'll be able to get outdoor patio seating for the Spring and Summer (pending a city permit).
• If we raise another $30,000, we'll be able to add a full-time "developer" position to take what we've created in starting up Overflow and keep it going and growing over time.  The "developer" will be charged with maintaining and expanding the awesomeness of Overflow.
• If we raise another $63,000, we'd be a lot more stable as a business.  Right now, if some unforeseen circumstance (like equipment failure) happened, it could cause us to go out of business.  With increased stability, we'll be able to look more toward increasing our impact locally and globally instead of worrying so much about making payroll.

Yes, we're shooting for the moon and hoping for the impossible.  We figure we'd rather put our hopes and dreams out there and see what happens.  Thanks to all of you who believe in us and want to see us not just stay in business but improve, grow and increase how much we change the world.

Click here to see our progress toward these dreams!

Save your sanity! Shop small this holiday season.

Written by Billy and Daria, students at Roosevelt University

The frenzied shopping season is almost upon us. We're sure you’ve seen commercials for can’t-miss sales and the news stories about big department stores that will open their doors on Thanksgiving Day for the first time.  Overflow's next movie screening, the documentary What Would Jesus Buy?, takes on this subject with full vigor.

Released in 2007, the movie showcases “Reverend Billy” as he follows holiday shoppers from New York City to Disney World. One of the main messages of the movie is the irony of how we celebrate Thanksgiving, which is supposed to be a time to give thanks for our blessings, followed by Black Friday, a day when people nearly trample each other trying to get the best deals at big department stores. 

We encourage you to ponder some questions surrounding this American shopping phenomenon…

Are the few dollars saved worth the insane crowds and your shattered nerves?

           

            Where do the dollars that you spend actually go?

Are your dollars working to make the world a better place?

 Do you value humanitarianism over materialism?

Large corporations exert great buying power over suppliers, forcing them to sell wholesale goods at extremely low prices so the corporations can achieve greater profits.  Suppliers across the globe must sell their goods at prices that keep their workforce at living standards below the poverty level, offering no chance for improvement.  The profits realized by large corporations are then put into the pockets of stockholders and company executives. This vicious cycle only benefits corporations while the rest of us are left with empty wallets.

In an effort to begin a discussion on the value of spending your hard earned dollars at places that will benefit you, benefit your community, and benefit the world at large, we'd encourage you to attend the screening of What Would Jesus Buy? After the movie, we’ll have a discussion in which we address the questions above and more!

Get your tickets here!

Film Screening: What Would Jesus Buy?

Reserve your seat now!

One Small Business' Take on a Big Business Moving In

A big topic of conversation lately has been the opening of a big grocery store on 16th and Clark, just a block away from us.  This grocery store contains a coffee bar complete with a wide variety of lunch items.  Lots are speculating about whether this new addition will increase business for Overflow due to increased foot and vehicle traffic in the area.  Alternatively, they could been seen as a competitor who could take away from our business.  I thought I'd share what we know for sure.

• Overflow is local.  We made it our mission from before we opened to be embedded deeply in this neighborhood.  I think we've done a good job of that.  Ask yourself, "Would my South Loop neighbors and I miss Overflow if it was gone?"  If you answered "yes" then we've succeeded already!

• Overflow is locked into changing the world.  When we make decisions like choosing where we source our products, we choose what's best for the planet and those who live here, not always the cheapest option.  We're committed to making wise choices.  Plus, we're getting close to making a profit.  Once we make that profit, we are required to invest it in nonprofit work.  We've already done some of that since it's the right thing to do but there's much, much more to come!

We hope these two facts along with having a space you can work, study, or play from for hours on end and our commitment to great customer service will mean our business succeeds no matter who moves in around us.  In fact, we hope the South Loop continues to attract new businesses.  As a good friend likes to say, in the South Loop "may all boats rise."

Consider Faith - Purposeful Living Idea 13 of 52

I have a couple assumptions in writing this post: (1) we are whole persons not divided into parts and (2) in addition to our body, minds, emotions, and relationships, we are defined by our souls or spirits.

If these 2 assumptions are true, then I would venture to guess that when we think about living purposeful lives, we need to think about our spiritual side as part of our whole being.    Thus “Purposeful Living Idea 13” is “Consider faith.”

Personally, I have found great strength from my faith to keep me going in helping others.  It’s like I get filled up through faith experiences so that I either am more content with what I have or I have more to then share more with others.  I can authentically say my faith has saved me from compassion fatigue (pun intended).

Perhaps not everyone experiences faith this way or wouldn’t know where to begin to find a place to experience faith in this way.  Thus, I’m leading a group (along with my husband Brandon) to help people experience faith and its benefits.  You can read more about what this looks like here:

www.overflowfaithcommunity.org.  If this seems like something that would interest you, please feel free to pop in one Sunday at 11am down the hall from Overflow Coffee Bar (1550 S. State Street).

In the meantime or if you’re reading this from far away from Chicago, I’d invite you to consider faith.  If you are considering faith for the first time, ask yourself, “How could faith help me live life more purposefully?” If you’re considering faith in a new way, ask yourself, “How is my faith helping me live life more purposefully?”  I’d invite you to share your answers by commenting on this post.  I’d love to hear your stories.

Consider faith.  Improve your life.  Change the world.