Thank you for taking
the time to contact Starbucks regarding coffee donations to
those serving in our armed forces.
Starbucks has the deepest respect and admiration for U.S.
military personnel. We are extremely grateful to the men and
women who serve stateside or overseas. We sincerely appreciate
that they are willing to risk their lives to protect Americans
and our values of freedom and democracy. While Starbucks as a
company cannot directly donate to military personnel, many of
our partners (employees) show their support by donating coffee.
Starbucks partners receive one pound of free coffee each week as
an employee benefit (known as "partner mark-out"). Many of our
partners have elected to send their weekly mark-out of coffee to
members of the military or military families, and related
organizations. Our partners have collected and shipped numerous
pounds of Starbucks coffee overseas.
As an example of this generosity, our partners in our
Atascadero, California store sent their weekly mark out coffee
to troops in Afghanistan so they are able to enjoy a little
piece of home. Our customer relations department in
Seattle donated hundreds of pounds of coffee to the sailors in
the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group. These are just a few
examples of our partners supporting the troops. We recognize and
appreciate the very personal connection that customers have with
us and how they might miss their Starbucks Experience while
overseas.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to clarify
Starbucks' policy regarding charitable contributions. We are
able to donate to nonprofit organizations that are designated as
public charities under Section 501(c) (3) of the IRS Code, and
are extended to public libraries and schools. Over the years,
Starbucks has built many enduring relationships with nonprofit
organizations that are aligned with our focus areas of
charitable giving. The U.S. military or individual military
personnel do not qualify as a public charity.
Thank you again for writing and ask you to accept our deepest
appreciation to servicemen and women and hope you remain a
valued Starbucks customer. If you have any additional feedback
or would like to discuss this further, please feel free to
contact us at (800) 235-2883 or email us at
info@starbucks.com.
Sincerely,
Kellie
Customer Relations Representative
Starbucks Coffee Company
OTHER
ARTICLES:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/starbucks.asp
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_starbucks_statement.htm
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/starbucks-iraq.htm
http://amillionthanks.org/STARBUCKS.asp
Many would argue that Starbucks could be lying, but there are
other reasons to believe that this message is false. There
are a half a dozen of similar messages out there about other
companies, all of which have ended up completely false. If you
hate a company, just put out a false email. Everyone will
believe it without needing a bit of proof. Tommy Hilfiger,
Procter & Gamble, Pepsi, Coke - they've all been targets.
(1) Starbucks is a
publicly traded company - it is controlled by a Board of
Directors, not an individual person. No person could have said
such a thing for the company. If they did, they should
have been reported to the corporate office.
(2) Starbucks, like
other companies, has a corporate giving policy in writing. It
dictates what they can and can't give to. Many companies limit
areas of giving. You have to understand that there is only so
much of a pie to go around.
(3) Starbuck's, like
most companies, would be concerned with its image. Support of
the military who are serving the country, even among those who
oppose the current war, is extremely high. This would be very
bad for corporate image and they're not stupid enough not to
know it.
(4) Note that the
information is given to the writer second hand: "some marines
(what marines?) wrote to Starbucks . . ." "Starbucks wrote back.
. . " (show the letter and who wrote it). Always ask: when,
where, why, who. Who were these Marines? Who authorized the
letter? What EXACTLY (exact quote) did the letter say? This
doesn't meet the W questions test (Who, What, When, Where, Why)!
