Starbucks UK puts reading first.
2008 marked the seventh anniversary of the Starbucks UK team working with the National Literacy Trust (NLT), a leading domestic literacy charity. We focused our support on the NLT Reading is Fundamental, UK initiative, which promotes a love of reading among children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Our partners (employees) in the UK also ran their fifth annual Starbucks Book Drive, collecting more than 200,000 books from local customers, partners and businesses. The books were given to more than 300 primary schools. Since the inception of this partnership with the NLT, Starbucks partners and customers have donated more than 460,000 books to communities throughout the UK.
Starbucks has also supported the National Literacy Trust in 2008 through one of its inaugural international youth grants. The support helped NLT implement a plan to more fully engage youth.
Starbucks UK and Ireland help coffee farmers in Ethiopia.
Since 1992, The Starbucks Foundation has contributed to CARE International, the humanitarian and development organization. The Foundation has committed $500,000 to CARE for a three-year social development project with the coffee-growing community of Gewgew Dingete in West Hararghe, Ethiopia.
Starbucks Coffee UK and Ireland have committed an additional $350,000 to support initiatives for improved water resources, sustainable farming and life-long learning for the people of Gewgew Dingete. Starbucks partners helped raise additional money toward the project through events and volunteering time toward charitable projects in their local communities.
In fiscal 2008, UK and Ireland Starbucks partners showed their support for Gewgew Dingete in an unusual way – by raising money through an adventure race organized by CARE. Partners tackled over 15 miles of forest trails on mountain bikes, kayaked the choppy waters of the local reservoir and completed a tough trek in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. The team effort, along with local collections in stores, helped raise $100,000.
