The cash box at the Capitol Hill Starbucks (Twitter @Diana_Olick).

The Starbucks, located near Capitol Hill, has established a cash box for furloughed employees and others who are in need of a little extra money. CNBC correspondent, Diana Olick, tweeted a photo of the box yesterday afternoon on her account. As seen in the picture, customers are encouraged to “contribute for someone else.” 

It appears that the Capitol Hill Starbucks has already begun following the example set by CEO Howard Schultz. On Monday, Schultz posted an open letter on the company website expressing his disappointment with the current state of the country and he implored other business leaders to take action. 

“I’d like to encourage you to consider what your companies and organizations can do to help shift the norms of our country back toward civility, compromise and problem-solving.”

Schultz hinted that Starbucks was making plans to “galvanize our customers, inspire our people and encourage the communities we serve to come together to take care of each other.” 

Those plans include offering free coffee to customers in an effort to encourage lawmakers to reach an agreement. Schultz announced on Tuesday that customers who bought someone else their favorite beverage would receive a complimentary tall brewed coffee from Wednesday until Friday of this week. 

“Pay it forward and Starbucks will pay you back,” said Schultz.

Starbucks isn’t the only company paying it forward in response to the government shutdown. Numerous businesses in the D.C. metropolitan area have offered federal employees free food, drinks and activities to ease the pain of being away from work.

Pork Barrel BBQ in Alexandria, Va. pledged to hand out free sandwiches until the end of the shutdown. At Boston Market, all federal employees and military personnel with a valid government ID will get a rotisserie chicken for free with the purchase of a family meal through Oct. 13 at all locations nationwide.

The Children’s Museum of Wilmington in North Carolina and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C. is offering free admission for all employees of the federal government and the U.S. military for the entirety of the shutdown. The Virginia Zoo and the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center are also free of charge for furloughed workers. 

Furloughed employees with skydiving licenses can get an adrenaline rush for free at Skydive Hawaii. They company wrote on their Facebook page, "We will keep this up until you're working again or we no longer can bear the costs."

Hyundai has also lessened the burden by deferring all car payments due on vehicles that furloughed employees have leased or purchased with a Hyundai loan. Furthermore, any furloughed employee who buys a new car during the shutdown won’t have to make any payments until January 2014. 

It is inspiring to watch Schultz and other business owners use their influence to make a difference in the lives of the furloughed federal employees and their families during this stressful time. 

“Every day in our stores, we bear witness to small acts of human kindness that reflect the generosity of spirit at the core of our guiding principles,” wrote Schultz.

Now, because of the shutdown, we are seeing these “small acts of human kindness” resonate throughout the country.

Reach Staff Reporter Gabi Duncan here. Follow her on Twitter.