Starbucks Offers All Veteran Employees Free College For Their Spouse Or Child

2015-11-10T19:20:03-05:00

I think this is a remarkable move. Not big on paying for expensive cups of coffee but I'll make a stop or two one of these days in appreciation of this move.

From Forbes:

Micah Solomon
Just in time for Veterans Day: Seattle-based coffee giant Starbucks is announcing today that it will now extend a 100% tuition-free four-year college benefit to the spouse or child of every U.S. veteran or active military reservist employed 20 or more hours a week.

This new benefit, whose zero-tuition price point results from a 42-58 partnership between ASU and Starbucks, will be an additional benefit atop the previously-announced college benefit (also four years, 100% tuition free) that Starbucks extends to every employee who works 20 hours per week or more, which is offered through the online campus of Arizona State University (ASU), an accredited (and generally well-respected) institution, in an approach that has been lauded by the leadership of the U.S. Department of Education.

Starbucks will also now be paying for up to 80 hours per year for service obligations of employees who are active duty or reservists in the U.S. Armed Forces or National Guard.

At the same time, Starbucks also announced a variety of other benefits, support, and milestones related to the employment of U.S. veterans, active military reservists and military spouses.

These include two achievement milestones in its provision of services for veterans and their families:

• Starbucks announced that it has already succeeded in hiring more than 5,500 veterans and military spouses, fulfilling more than 50% of the commitment made just two years ago to employ at least 10,000 vets and their spouses by 2018. In order to achieve this, Starbucks has invested in several specific strategies: It hired four dedicated military recruiters in key focus cities across the country including Seattle, D.C. and Austin, established more than 80 connections with military bases, installation transition and educational offices across the country and overseas, attended more than 200 military hiring fairs across the nation that recruit veterans and military spouses, and expanded their employee affinity group, the Starbucks Armed Forces Network, from one to 12 regional chapters. (Starbucks Armed Forces Network is intended to connect veterans and create mentorships across the company to ease transition from military to civilian life.)

As I’ve written recently, tuition and similar benefits are proving to be a wildly successful recruitment and retention tool for Starbucks, with over 60% of applicants mentioning the tuition benefit in particular as an influencing factor. The success of Starbucks’ approach would seem to demonstrate that in business it’s not always a question of choosing between taking care of your employees and their community and taking care of the bottom line. One really can feed the other, it would appear.

Micah Solomon is a Seattle-based customer service consultant, customer service speaker and trainer, and bestselling author.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2015/11/09/starbucks-to-veterans-well-send-your-spouse-or-child-and-you-to-college-100-free/

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Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Nov 10 at 2015 7:21 PM

2015-11-10T19:21:54-05:00

That is magnanimous.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Nov 10 at 2015 7:33 PM

2015-11-10T19:33:08-05:00

This certainly seems like a very nice benefit that starbucks is launching CPT Ahmed Faried
I wonder how many Veterans Starbucks actually employs. "
In the many years I worked in the Pentagon the starbucks shops which had thoroughly vetted and cleared employees did not honor the starbucks cards because they were franchise operations and not directly managed by starbucks.
Most of the starbucks retail locations that I frequented seemed to employ people who were not veterans. I expect times have changed and they may have actively been hiring veterans in many places; but< i have not seen any evidence supporting a veterans hiring program, by starbucks. Have you seen any veterans employment campaigns initiated by starbucks?

Response by MSgt Curtis Ellis made Nov 10 at 2015 8:28 PM

2015-11-10T20:28:02-05:00

Hell, in that case, they can put whatever they want on those flippin cups!!! LOL!

Response by SN Greg Wright made Nov 10 at 2015 8:36 PM

2015-11-10T20:36:59-05:00

CPT Ahmed Faried I never cared about Cup-Gate personally, but I imagine this move will shut lots of people up who do lol.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 10 at 2015 8:45 PM

2015-11-10T20:45:19-05:00

A win, win, win for sure (the last win is to help overcome their past practice of not supporting anything directly military out of a sense of "fairness").

Response by MSG Kevin Elliott made Nov 10 at 2015 9:28 PM

2015-11-10T21:28:40-05:00

Great job Starbucks!

Response by SFC Joseph Weber made Nov 11 at 2015 12:10 AM

2015-11-11T00:10:19-05:00

Last time I checked Starbucks was cheaper than Green Bean which they stuck on Army bases.

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Nov 11 at 2015 1:48 AM

2015-11-11T01:48:02-05:00

CPT Ahmed Faried - outstanding!

Response by Maj Kim Patterson made Nov 11 at 2015 2:10 AM

2015-11-11T02:10:30-05:00

When at the ER about a month ago, I heard a young lady comment in passing as she put down her backpack: yeah, now that I'm back, "This is my 'Big Girl' job" and found myself wondering how many other vets surround us after facing the responsibilities, critical decisions, million dollar budgets and situations required of the military and now work a menial job because that is what was available? Obviously we all hear about the invisible homeless veterans, but we are everywhere...serving your coffee, bagging your groceries, making your sandwich or burger. One of my post military jobs was sandwich maker, another sales in a popular chain and yet another, limo driver. You won't find these on my official resume, but I was not too proud to do whatever it took to get to my next goal.

I think this is a great program but will require commitment and time and personal finance juggling, especially for families with young children.

Great start, Starbucks!

Response by SSG Paul Setterholm made Nov 11 at 2015 1:07 PM

2015-11-11T13:07:08-05:00

Does this apply to stepchildren?

Response by PV2 Scott Goodpasture made Nov 11 at 2015 2:35 PM

2015-11-11T14:35:12-05:00

A huge about face. I remember when they wouldn't donate coffee beans to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan because of their peacenik beliefs. Good for them