Starbucks partners in the Washington D.C. area will be writing the words “Come Together,” on Starbucks cups now through the 28th. (Starbucks calls their employees “partners.”) This gesture is a reminder of the strength of Americans in the face of the Sandy Hook tragedy, and the upcoming budget concerns in Congress. Starbucks lost a partner in the shooting tragedy.
Here is the letter on Starbucks.com:
So if you see, “Come together” on your paper cup, now you know why! The letter by Howard Schultz includes a link to a website called Fix The Debt, where you can sign a petition asking Congress to fix the debt crisis. It appears to be just Washington D.C.-area partners who are participating in this, but I don’t see why other partners can’t participate!
Here’s the full post:
Posted by Howard S., Starbucks chairman, president and chief executive officer
There are moments in our lives when we have an opportunity to ignite tremendous positive change—not just in the lives of the customers and communities we serve every day, but in our country. This was evident in the outpouring of support in the wake of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary that claimed 26 innocent lives, including one of our partners (employees), Lauren Rousseau.
This spirit of connectedness and humanity is powerful; so powerful that if we unleash it, we can make a difference on a much grander scale.
In the spirit of the Holiday season and the Starbucks tradition of bringing people together, we have a unique opportunity to unite and take action on an incredibly important topic. As many of you know, our elected officials in Washington D.C. have been unable to come together and compromise to solve the tremendously important, time-sensitive issue to fix the national debt. You can learn more about this impending crisis at www.fixthedebt.org.
Rather than be bystanders, we have an opportunity—and I believe a responsibility—to use our company’s scale for good by sending a respectful and optimistic message to our elected officials to come together and reach common ground on this important issue. This week through December 28, partners in our Washington D.C. area stores are writing “Come Together” on customers’ cups.
It’s a small gesture, but the power of small gestures is what Starbucks is about! Imagine the power of our partners and hundreds of thousands of customers each sharing such a simple message, one cup at a time.
Never before have we asked our partners to write something specific on our customers’ cups. These words express the optimism that’s core to the holiday season, to our country’s heritage, and to our Starbucks Mission. This effort is also being amplified by our friends at AOL and Patch who are joining us in activating their hyper-localnetwork of websites to share the “Come Together” message.
My hope is that this simple message will serve as a holiday reminder from Starbucks of the spirit that has always bridged differences and that we all have the power to come together and make a difference during every season of the year.
I wish you the warmest holiday wishes and a very happy New Year.
Howard
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Beautiful…and part of the philanthropy that Starbucks is known for and it doesn’t cost a thing. I also hope people will do random acts of kindness along the way in tribute to the Sandy Hook victims and into the new year.
Melody, this is the first comment I have made to your blog in a long time, though I will have you know I have been keeping up and reading each and every one. But forgive me, this is the first posting that didn’t seem trivial to the state of mind that I had been in.
I have always been a fighter when the chips are down. But for the first time in my life I was starting to feel that I did not have any fight in me. I saw Hurricane Sandy wipe out parts of my beloved Jersey shore. I saw friends’ businesses destroyed, their main houses ruined and not to forget the strangers who lost everything in their lives. All this happened in my back yard and I felt helpless to do anything for days on end. Then one day I slapped on my boots, called a friend in the food business and together we managed to make meals to feed thirty people for three days. We went to the shore and we worked in the muck and the wet and the cold and we helped a small business owner pick up the pieces of his shattered business. This same business owner was ready to give up but because of friends, family and complete strangers coming together he saw the light at the end of the tunnel and the business will go on. The business owner and the food business owner found a common thread in each other’s lives, two strangers who are now fast friends.
The money that I had left over from the “food run” got donated to yet another town who had been devastated by Sandy. In my heart, two towns had come together.
Somehow that just didn’t seem like enough from me. I started calling municipalities that were also impacted by the hurricane and read news reports of where the need seemed greater. I set up a wish list and convinced friends, family and strangers to buy things on the wish list. My family gave up exchanging gifts this year so that strangers would know someone cared about them. Beneath my tree was empty this year but that emptiness was probably the best Christmas gift I have ever received. My family and fiends had come together to give a little helping hand to those who needed it most.
Then this tragedy at Sandy Hook. Again, I felt such a deep loss and powerless to help. Our town organized a multi-faith vigil and for the first time in many, many years I prayed. In the freezing cold I prayed. Yet again, I saw people come together and pray for peace.
Howard’s message is not lost on me. We can come together, I have seen that, I have felt the power of that statement. Those two little words mean so much and can do so much. I have seen this first hand.
SuzanneC -I’m at work and don’t have time to say much, but just wanted to say thank you for the beautiful comment, and thank you for the generous soul you have that to pitch in wherever & whenever needed.
Sounds like a wonderful idea! I am going to start doing that! Thanks for sharing, Melody!
@Suzanne C – bless you.
@Melody – I echo the posts above in expressing my appreciation for your post and Howard’s bold position. Too bad some media and small minded people are already throwing partisan politics into the mix and attacking Howard and Starbucks.
So I have to repeat another one of my favorite quotes, that reminds me to focus:
In the words of a fine Arab proverb, “The dogs may bark; the caravan goes on!”
Happy New Year to all.
Bravo Suzanne! Beautiful and elegant way to convey how simply pitching in and helping matters.
Nice gesture by Schultz if it were not so self interested. Coffee commodity prices are down almost 50 percent because of the bumper crop out of Brazil. Starbucks would have taken this profit to the bank if demand were not about to plunge. The potential rise in taxes that is the subject of the “come together” campaign (e.g., the potential end of the Bush tax rates) along with the new tax increases that are about to hit with Obamacare, will have devastating effects on retailers that depend on discretionary spending like Starbucks. I am a fan of the stock, but worried that taxes might obliterate the outlook for the company that seemed so aromatic when news of the Brazilian crop drove coffee prices down.
The comment conversation on the official blog is really something else. People get very heated over two little words.
Wow Melody, I just read the ‘official blog”. People are ridiculous getting their panties in a bunch over two words. Two little words that could do so much if people just took the time to read those words for what they mean and not some conspiracy theory.
It is a message of harmony. We could use a little harmony in this world of disconnection.
We reap what we sow.
Either the directive doesn’t extend to the DC suburbs or my particular baristas in Fairfax County, Virginia haven’t been interested in participating. 6 drinks, zero “come together” cup inscriptions.
Here in MD where I reside, I never had one cup with the words “Come Together” written on the cups I purchased. I do believe, however, the motive behind the action was political.
@SbuxMel in a busy store it simply takes too long to write on every cup. I like the intention… if only @Starbucks had it printed on cups. But then again I’m coming from the #DC area, where it appears we are the last to board the Starbucks culture train…much to my chagrin.
OR it may be that I just assumed it would be everywhere, apparently #DC region has stepped it up leading the charge on this one. I stand…er…type corrected. Though I maintain that not many places are doing it and it’s a big interruption in extra busy locations with blazing fast baristas and super efficient work flows.
I was surprised when I showed this to some of my team I thought for sure they would probably say “oh that’s neat” and ignore it. It was, for us, just an optional thing. They took to it and WANTED to do it.
I did post for the partners and shared as directed – it has literally been so busy this week that I have not pushed it – if they felt it was something they wanted to do then they had the information and could do it. Honestly with us not being in the DC area I could imagine the extra questions from customers as to why? Also what about my drive thru customers? Do they get included or excluded? Or take extra time to write on their cups as well?
Great intentions behind the message but execution can def use help
Beth, I never even thought about the drive thru! I bet that could slow the DT down as a baristas has to hang out the window explaining why the cup has ‘come together’ on it.
This thread has so many good points. I’ve been excited to “come together” on my cup, though it’s only happened once for me. One person on twitter mentioned that he had a customer actually request it – what’s amazing to me is that would be one very engaged and informed customer – someone who is really keeping up on Starbucks news!
The Starbucks on Broadway (across from QFC and Urban Outfitters) recently did this. I was pleasantly surprised to see this store doing this!
@Derrick – I know that little Starbucks on Broadway. Very nice store! Thanks for passing this along and commenting. I would have been pleasantly surprised too.