"We love our city and the people; and we want everyone to be able to afford to enjoy a few hours of Italian flair and Mediterranean cuisine."
Dear Reader,
in favorite city is located the popular Pizzeria Napoli, run by Giulia and Antonio. As passionate restaurateurs, they not only have a knack for delicious Italian cuisine, but also a heart for people.
But lately there has been a depressing mood in the air - not everyone can afford the small luxury of going to a restaurant. Especially now, after the city's largest employer had to close its doors, unemployment has hit many hard-working residents of favorite city.
During a visit of the mayor Michael Miteinand Giulia and Antonio learn about his new project: The introduction of Common Good Thank Points based on the Gradido model in Favorite City. The name "Gradido" is program, because this model is based on the principles of Gratitude, Dignity and Donation.
Each volunteer receives 20 gradidos per hour of their volunteer work and can exchange them for discounts and other benefits.
Hearing this idea, Antonio recalls a tradition from his native Naples: the "caffè sospeso". Originating in the mid-20th century, it is an act of solidarity in which someone not only pays for their own coffee, but also buys another one "in stock" for someone in need. This loving gesture has grown in popularity since its inception and is now known worldwide as "pay it forward."
Karma cafés, also known as pay-what-you-can cafés, have a similar concept and are spreading around the globe. These are places where people can pay for the food and drink they can afford or what they think is appropriate.
The idea behind a Karma Café is to foster community and connectedness while ensuring that no one goes hungry due to financial constraints. Karma Cafés can make an important contribution to the community by fostering a sense of solidarity and compassion.
The fusion of these concepts inspires the couple to a great initiative:
They decide to introduce two Gradido days a week, when they offer food and drinks at Gradido discounts. Guests who can afford it also have the option of paying more. In this way, they enable less well-off people to have their meal entirely for Gradidos.
In this way, these fellow human beings do not simply feel that they are in need, but in return, through their volunteer work, they can enjoy a luxury that they might not otherwise have.
On the two established Gradido days, the waiters get their well-deserved day off. This gives a group of young people the idea to volunteer to help out for Gradidos.
The community is growing together. Solidarity and cohesion now gladden hearts every day at Pizzeria Napoli - and in all of Favorite City.
And another amazing phenomenon can be observed:
Since the introduction of Gradido Days, the pizzeria has been booming like never before. It is full every day and attracts more and more guests from further afield who want to experience the "miracle of favorite city". Those who can afford it are happy to pay extra to make a Gradido meal possible for those less well off financially.
Giulia and Toni are now recording more sales and profits than ever before.
In this fourth post of our series "Gradido in favorite city" we see how Gradido can not only improve the quality of life of residents, but also significantly increase the business success of local trades. This theme will accompany us in the further articles, where even companies and the city hospital are saved.
Feel free to forward this series to your city council, clubs and business owners!
If we don't take action together now, the downward trend will continue, the economy will be driven to the wall, the middle class will be hollowed out, and many communities will collapse under the debt burden.
With Gradido, we have an effective tool for positive life and success design in our hands. Together, we transform our cities and communities into vibrant thriving oases - our favorite places!
Love greetings
Yours
Margret Baier and Bernd Hückstädt
Gradido founder and developer
PS: Due to the ever-growing importance of Gradido, we are repeating our gratitude campaign on April 24: In addition to the multiple GradidoTransform for your sponsorship contribution, we will increase all GDT account balances by 24% on April 24, 2024. Sponsor now and enjoy the multiple amount of GDT!