Starbucks Refuses to Donate Coffee to U.S. Troops

Isn't it interesting how those on the left are always stating that they support the troops - it is just the war they oppose? At least in the case of Starbucks this seems to be false. For some time there has been speculation that Starbucks not only opposes the war, but in fact they do not support our troops either. Many think the actions of Starbucks indicates that they believe our troops are not worthy of support because they are standing on the front lines so we can sleep easy at night. My research has convinced me that this is not speculation.

A friend recently sent me an email about the efforts of a Marine Corps League detachment in Ohio that was raising items to include in care packages that they were going to send to our troops over seas. This is a 501(3)(c) charitable organization made up of former Marines. As part of their effort to collect donations they approached an Starbucks outlet and were told that Starbucks would not donate coffee for their care packages because they do not support the war. Pretty amazing, especially given the below incident.

Sgt Howard C. Wright,1st Force Recon Co 1st Plt PLT RTO wrote a letter to all of his email buddies telling them how Starbucks wouldn't support the troops in Iraq, only to retract it five months later. Text of Sgt. Wright's Email:

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.

I'm sure Starbucks did contact Sgt. Wright. Here are parts of Starbucks' response by David Campbell,Customer Relations regarding supporting out troops:

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.

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...The U.S. military or individual military personnel do not qualify as a public charity.

However, on an individual level, many Starbucks partners have collected and shipped numerous pounds of Starbucks coffee overseas. Starbucks partners receive one pound of free coffee each week as an employee benefit...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.

First, Mr. Campbell is wrong. There is no law prohibiting Starbucks, or anyone else from donating things to the military - it happens all the time. what Mr. Campbell means is that Starbucks does not get to deduct their donation for tax purposes. In other words, it seems that Starbucks wont donate coffee to our troops because they cannot deduct the donation from their taxes. A rather Machiavellian view if you ask me. See Legalzoom.com for the law.

We should all thank the Starbucks employees who donate to our troops, but tell me how can Starbucks take credit for the good deeds of their employees? More importantly, how can Starbucks imply, like Mr. Campbell did, that the only reason they do not donate to our troops is that they only donate to 501(3)(c) charities...and then turn around and refuse to donate to the Marine Corps League detachment that is just such a charity? Also, if Starbucks is so appreciative of the sacrifices of our troops, then why did the people at the store state that they would not donate coffee because they do not support war? No one asked them to support the war - only to support our troops by donating some coffee to a 501(3)(c) charity. A strange way to show one's support. In fact, based on what I have learned, I do not believe they are supporting our troops at all, and honestly wonder if they are even appreciative of their sacrifices.

I have drank my last cup of Starbucks coffee until they can demonstrate, with more than a press release, that they support our troops.