The Good Suspended was inspired by the Italian tradition of ‘caffe sospeso’ (‘suspended coffee’: a cup of coffee paid for in advance as an anonymous act of charity). Now, ordinary citizens are doing extraordinary things to help people during the coronavirus crisis.  

Simple extraordinary acts like cancelling rent for tenants to buying an extra bag of groceries for those in need, preserving the memory of those who died alone or sending letters to a mother separated from her newborn child. Coronavirus has made it possible for thousands of ordinary citizens to become the unsung heroes of this crisis, with small gestures that inspired and changed the life of so many. Every week we’ll bring you a new episode, two minutes of stories that are changing the lives of so many and inspired many more.

Not all Italian Americans are like the Sopranos or Padrino! In this episode we introduce the amazing story of ‘Super’ Mario from Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Mario cancelled rent for thousands of his tenants and donated to local restaurants so they could cook meals for people in need, doctors and nurses.

In this episode we share stories of grocery bags left ‘suspended ’ in the streets and by guardrails for those in need in Italy and Germany. We also look at stories of meals delivered to children in the slums of Nairobi.

In this episode we hear the beautiful story of Karita and Inga, in love for 50 years and separated by a border and by coronavirus, yet still meeting every day. We also discover a touching letter from Brittany, a nurse who takes care of Alli’s newborn while mother and child are separated.

In this episode Francesco tells the story of Rahul, an ordinary citizen who opened his house in Washington to shelter protesters fleeing the police during the Black Lives Matter march.

As soon as we get more videos from Francesco, we will upload them. To learn more about how Italian fundraisers have responded to the coronavirus pandemic, click here.