Random Acts of Coffee: Winter 2025

Grab a mocha latte, boba tea, or a plain old cuppa joe and get to know your colleagues. Deadline to sign up is February 14.

In 2020 the Smithsonian Community Committee (SCC) introduced Random Acts of Coffee, a program that supports the One Smithsonian initiative to establish new lines of communication across the Institution by creating informal, small-group conversations between staff and volunteers – one cup at a time.

Since then, more than 2,200 Smithsonian staff, interns, volunteers, fellows, alumni, and contractors have registered to participate in the program, and we’ve received some very positive feedback. Here’s what some previous participants had to say:

• I feel happier after chatting with them.
• Random Acts of Coffee helped me feel more connected to the rest of the Smithsonian.
• My group has participants from NY, Boston, and DC.  We have agreed to check in every other week.
• I signed up for the first Random Acts of Coffee in 2020. My group has continued to chat and met up for the first time in person at the Folklife Festival.
• I’ve participated in several rounds of Random Acts and have enjoyed getting to meet new people from other parts of the Institution.
• I thought I knew everyone at SI – until I met the others in my group.

How it works.  Participants are randomly assigned to groups of four people for a virtual meet-up. Your group picks the date, time, platform (Teams, Zoom, etc.). Fill up your mug with coffee, tea, water, juice, etc., and let the conversations begin. We can provide you with some icebreaker questions in case you need help getting started.

Whether it’s a one-off meeting or it turns into a regular group chat, you will get a chance to meet new colleagues and learn about their journey within and outside the Smithsonian. Other benefits may include collaboration, team building, new ideas, and an appreciation of a new experience/activity.

Who can participate?  Random Acts of Coffee is open to everyone in the Smithsonian community.

*If you work with volunteers, interns, or contractors, please feel free to forward this message to them.  The link below will also work for individuals who do not have an SI email account.

Sign me up! Please complete the online registration form by 5:00 pm EST on Friday, February 14. Groups will be randomly assigned, and all participants will be notified of their group shortly after the registration closes.

For further information on this message, contact Elyse Smith, Chair – Random Acts of Coffee, x3-3348 (VoIP) or 202-633-3348 (non-VoIP), SmithER2@si.edu