On Veterans day, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said that the holiday aimed at honoring our heroes, has been turning into a weekend sale. I agreed with his statement, and while I have no issue with capitalism, our priorities as a country are remarkably skewed.  Memorial and Veterans day have turned from honoring our fallen, and praising those who signed the dotted line, to the weekend where you can get 199 dollar flat screens, and half priced washers and dryers.  Howard Schultz aims to change the way our veterans are welcomed back home, and help them get back into the work force.  

Back in March, Schultz/Starbucks donated 30 million dollars to go towards Veterans with TBI, and PTS, this is after he pledged to hire 10,000 Veterans, and Military spouses.  

During an interview with Scott Pelley, Schultz said something that stuck with me.

..That's correct. The truth of the matter is, and I say this with respect, more often than not, the government does a very -- a much better job of sending people to war than they do bringing them home. These young men and women who are coming home from multiple deployments are not coming home to a parade. They're not coming home to a celebration. They're coming home to an American public that really doesn't understand, and never embraced, what these people have done.

I have known that Starbucks gives back to Vets for a while now, we have had coffee care packages sent to us, and even received gift cards at the USO while traveling.  But when I walked into my local store this past weekend, and saw the things they were doing, it blew me away.  They had coffee for sale where all the proceeds went to Veterans charities, a donation drop box, even a veteran themed gift card which if you purchased, Starbucks will donate $5 to Onward Veterans, an initiative to support and empower veterans as they transition to civilian life, and as the lady said, it was selling like crazy.  It is nice to see a mega huge company is trying to give back, and not solely interested in profits.

If you are interested in the programs Starbucks offers, check out the Veterans Page on the Starbucks website.

                             

So before you 3pers, or 2A douchebags chime in about the recent debacle with the open carry group, ask yourself which company has given more to veterans, or are as committed to hiring our heroes?

For the dudes who says Starbucks coffee sucks, its better than the steaming pile of shit that Dunkin Donuts sells.

Steven LaBarre
Stay the Course LLC