This girl is spreading joy with inspiring messages on Starbucks coffee sleeves
Most people don’t notice the sleeves that encase their Starbucks coffee cups, but one 9-year-old from Texas saw the nondescript cardboard coverings as an opportunity to put a smile on people’s faces, one morning joe at a time.
"Every time somebody gets Starbucks, they can get an encouraging note to go with it," Ayvah Doyle told "Good Morning America."
A couple months ago, the fourth-grader and Starbucks "super fan" from Port Neches, about 90 miles east of Houston, approached a local Starbucks with an idea to write encouraging notes to customers on coffee sleeves.
From there, her quest to put a "smile on people’s faces" transformed into a campaign she calls "Sleeves of Encouragement."
"I actually went up to the Starbucks manager … I asked them if it was OK if I could have some coffee sleeves, and they said, 'Sure,'" Ayvah said.
So Ayvah got to work. With the help of her cousins, she decorated 1,380 coffee sleeves in only a few hours --- each complete with a personal message and Ayvah’s signature.
"What better way to make people happy around the holidays, especially around Christmas?" Avyah added.
Ayvah’s mom, Kaycee Doyle, told "GMA" that she’s "blown away" by Ayvah’s work ethic and determination.
"She has the biggest heart, and she honestly just wants to make people happy. I am 100% behind her, and I’m ready to take on the world with her. Proud is an understatement for sure," Doyle said.
Doyle emphasized that though she prepared her daughter for a "no" from Starbucks when Ayvah first suggested the idea, she now feels "it was just meant to be."
"I’m just so proud of her, and I’m excited for her and to see where this goes," Doyle said.
Ayvah told "GMA" that one of the favorite messages she wrote was one that encouraged people to embrace and celebrate what makes them different.
"I came up with this myself … 'Be the cherry on top of the ice cream. Don’t be the cherry in an empty bowl,'" Ayvah said.
Two weeks ago, she hosted a launch party to kick off her campaign. She got to make her own drink of the day -- an "Encourage-mint Frap" -- at her community Starbucks in honor of the celebration.
"Everybody showed up; it was so much fun," Ayvah said.
As for the future of "Sleeves of Encouragement," Ayvah said she’s thinking big. She wants to put smiles on people’s faces beyond her hometown and even beyond her state.
"I just want this to go worldwide so that everybody can be happy around the world," Ayvah said.
