Received a prompt reply from Starbucks.................................... If interested, here it is. A shame how some rumors get out of control.
Thank you for taking the time to contact Starbucks regarding coffee donations to those serving in our armed forces.
Starbucks, our customers, and our partners (employees) respect the efforts of the U.S. men and women who serve their country in the military. Starbucks and its partners (employees) have consistently demonstrated their support of military personnel in a number of ways.
A few examples of their generosity include:
· Each week Starbucks partners (employees) receive one free pound of coffee. On an individual, grass roots level, many partners (employees) in the U. S. have collected their free coffee and shipped thousands of pounds of Starbucks coffee overseas.
· Partners in our Atascadero, California store sent their personal weekly allotment of coffee to troops in Afghanistan so they would be able to enjoy a little taste of home.
· Our customer relations department in Seattle donated hundreds of pounds of coffee to the sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier.
On Sept. 21, 2006, Starbucks was honored with the Freedom Award during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The Freedom Award, the highest award bestowed by the Department of Defense in recognition of an employer, was created in 1996 by President Bill Clinton and Secretary of Defense William Perry to publicly recognize American employers who provide exceptional support to their employees who voluntarily serve the nation in the National Guard and Reserve.
Starbucks employs approximately 90 U.S. partners (employees) who serve in the military and are currently on active duty. In support of their efforts, Starbucks provides a supplement to make up the difference between their military pay and their pay level at Starbucks before they went on leave. The partner (employee) can continue health coverage, and family health coverage, if enrolled, for up to 18 months. Partners (employees) are guaranteed a position upon return from active duty, except in rare circumstances, as permitted under the Federal Military Leave Laws; additionally, tenure at Starbucks is also kept while on active duty.
To enhance our U.S. partners' (employees) efforts in support of U.S. military troops, Starbucks is honored to extend our relationship with the American Red Cross in order to provide more coffee to relief efforts during times of conflict. On multiple occasions, Starbucks has donated 50,000 lbs of coffee to the American Red Cross for distribution to those troops serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait.
In response to an email concerning Starbucks lack of military personnel support, we replied to an e-mail circulating on the internet that contained misinformation about the Company. Starbucks contacted its author, a Marine Sergeant, who subsequently sent an e-mail to his original distribution list correcting his mistake, the text of which is:
"Dear Readers,
Almost 5 months ago I sent an e-mail to you my faithful friends. I did a wrong thing that needs to be cleared up. I heard by word of mouth about how Starbucks said they didn't support the war and all. I was having enough of that kind of talk and didn't do my research properly like I should have. This is not true. Starbucks supports men and women in uniform. They have personally contacted me and I have been sent many copies of their company's policy on this issue. So I apologize for this quick and wrong letter that I sent out to you.
Now I ask that you all pass this email around to everyone you passed the last one to.
Thank you very much for understanding about this.
Howard C. Wright
Sgt USMC
1st Force Rcon Co
1st Plt PLT RTO
dated: August 17, 2004"
Additionally, confirmation that this is an inaccurate rumor can be found at:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Nov2004/n11092004_2004110908.htmlhttp://www.boycottwatch.org/misc/starbucks2.htmhttp://www.boycottwatch.org/misc/starbucks2.htmhttp://truthminers.com/truth/starbucks.htm http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/starbucks-iraq.htmhttp://www.aMillionThanks.org http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/starbucks.asp http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/HBUrbanMyths.shtml#starbucks Thank you again for writing. We ask you to accept our deepest appreciation to servicemen and women and we hope that you will 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,
Minh L.
Customer Relations
Starbucks Coffee Company
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