As a people-first company, Starbucks is committed to enhancing the lives of all who touch the business, from our customers to our partners (employees). In 2013, Starbucks made a commitment to serve our Veteran and military community. As part of our partner promise to <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/mission/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bridge to a better future</a>, we continue to enhance our support for the military community, including Veteran and active military partners and their families. Throughout the last ten years, Starbucks has hired over 40,000 Veterans and military spouses. The company also has a commitment to hire 5,000 more each year going forward and continues to build out its support to the military community through new relocation services, community building efforts and mental health support.

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Through an <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2023/starbucks-strengthens-its-support-for-the-u-s-military-community/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announcement</a> made on July 31, 2023, Starbucks is proud to strengthen its support for the U.S. military community.

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To date, the company has reached more than double and has hired 25,000 veterans and military spouses.

Infographic: Starbucks Military Commitment

Stories to inspire and nurture the human spirit

Starbucks Stories

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Starbucks Corporation

Starbucks Military Commitment by the numbers

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Every day, Starbucks works to enhance the well-being of every community it serves through actions and programs rooted in opportunity and inclusion. Investments in military partners (employees) -- and every Starbucks partner – is grounded in the belief that Starbucks is at its best when uplifting one another with dignity, respect, and kindness.&nbsp;

Starbucks is honoring and recognizing those who serve this Military Appreciation Month through:&nbsp;

Finding camaraderie, earning a college degree&nbsp;

Eric Savary loved his time in the U.S. Marine Corps. He felt proud of serving his country and reveled in the camaraderie he felt with his team. He had joined the military in 2003, only a few years after 9/11 and “there’s definitely a sense of pride in serving during that time.” He served as an infantryman and later a mechanic and was deployed to Iraq and a number of other locations, but, after 12 years, he found himself at a crossroads. He’d gotten orders to go to West Coast – while his son, Dominic, then 5 years old, lived in York, Pennsylvania, where Savary had grown up.&nbsp;

Not wanting to be apart from him any longer, he chose to end his career in the military and move home. “It was a tough decision,” he said, “but it was go to California or go and be close to my son, so I chose the latter.”&nbsp;

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Before he transitioned out, he started looking for a civilian job and, despite having been a staff sergeant E-6 with many years of mechanical experience working on helicopters, he had trouble finding a job that valued the skills he learned in the military. “I talked to other guys who got out around that time and some of them were having trouble finding jobs. I got out and I had no idea. I had no safety net.” It’s a situation all too common for veterans – and one of the reasons that Starbucks has a hiring commitment to help support veterans and military spouses as well as partnerships with organizations that help veterans transition to civilian life.&nbsp;&nbsp;

One day, Savary got a call from another veteran about a job at the Starbucks York Roasting Plant, applied and started working there. He’s now the third shift maintenance supervisor.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“Going to Starbucks, it was great,” he said. “… Starbucks has done a lot for me and my family.”&nbsp;

This month, Savary will be graduating with a bachelor’s degree in operations management from Arizona State University, through the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, a partnership with ASU that provides full tuition coverage for eligible Starbucks partners.&nbsp;&nbsp;

These days, Savary’s family includes his wife, Shara, sons Dominic and Kohan, and his daughter, Rayna. Working overnight allows him to be home in time to help get the kids off to school and daycare and then he goes to bed and wakes around the time they get home from school, he said.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Whether he’s with his family or with his team at work, Savary said he values being able to be a support for others, just as he did during his time in the military. “I try to be my best self and help where I can help with others and family and everything else,” he said.&nbsp;

He’s found again some of that camaraderie he felt in the Marines with other veterans he works with at the plant and other partners. He credits his military foundation for helping hone his work ethic and commitment to be there for others. “I try to be present with the team, and to try to understand what frustrations they have and stuff that affects them outside of work. We understand this is work, but you’re also human. [If someone] has something going on in their personal life, to be mindful of that and follow up with them. The biggest thing is just to be present with them and to be around.”&nbsp;

Benefits that serve the military community&nbsp;

Building a network of Military Family Stores

At the new Military Family store at Yellow Springs in Frederick, Maryland, its mission is proudly declared in bold letters for all who enter, “This store is dedicated to people united by their courage to serve our country.” The Frederick Military Family Store is one of more than 100 <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/starbucks-military-family-stores-a-place-to-connect/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Starbucks Military Family Stores</a> across the country that serve as a hub for active service members, veterans, families and community. They also help advance veteran causes, accelerate the hiring of veteran and military spouses and bridge the civilian-military divide. Through partnerships with veteran service organizations, Military Family Stores link local veterans and their families to important resources, services and shared community.&nbsp;&nbsp;

At the dedication, district manager Tilley McMullen was presented the prestigious Patriot Award, a Department of Defense award presented to civilian employers of U.S. National Guard and Reserve service members for her support of during their training duties and possible deployments.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“It was a humbling experience to receive an award for what feels like just doing my job. I was honored to accept it on behalf of my team and look forward to having the opportunity to support even more military members and spouses through our first Military Family Store here in Frederick, Maryland. It’s a privilege to support our partners who have volunteered to serve our nation,” said McMullen.&nbsp;

This month, Starbucks will host three more Military Family Store dedications to bring together the community and celebrate their commitment to military families in Arden Hills, Minnesota; Warrensburg, Missouri; and Sumter, South Carolina.&nbsp;

Fostering connection and circles of support for our military communities&nbsp;

During Military Appreciation Month, Starbucks will partner with <a href="https://www.operationgratitude.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Operation Gratitude</a> and <a href="https://bluestarfam.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Blue Star Families</a> on a Starbucks eGift Card to drive donations to uplift military and veteran families.&nbsp;

Specifically, for every Starbucks eGift Card in the Military Appreciation Month category sold between May 1-31, Starbucks will donate $5 to be divided evenly between the two organizations.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In addition, as part of Starbucks longstanding partnership with veteran service organizations, the company is encouraging partners to engage in programming offered through both Blue Stars Families and Operation Gratitude as well as attend events hosting by the Starbucks Armed Forces Network throughout Military Appreciation Month.&nbsp;

This May, Blue Star Families is hosting 60 Military Spouse Appreciation Events in Starbucks stores in 25 U.S. states and Germany. Members of Blue Star Families will have the opportunity to nominate a military spouse to receive a $10 Starbucks eGift Card, as part of Starbucks and Blue Star Families’ “Thanks a Latte” giveaway.&nbsp;

Veteran Service Organizations by the numbers&nbsp;

To date, Starbucks has impacted 900,000+ veterans, military spouses and military communities through veteran service organizations (VSOs).&nbsp;

Year-round support for the military community&nbsp;&nbsp;

While Military Appreciation Month is just one month out of the year, Starbucks <a href="https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/community/veterans" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">commitment to support the military community</a> is a year-round effort: &nbsp;

More about how Starbucks supports the military community can be found in <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/uploads/2023/04/2022-Starbucks-Global-Environmental-Social-Impact-Report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Starbucks Annual Global Environmental Social Impact Report (GESI)</a>.&nbsp;

Every day, Starbucks works to enhance the well-being of every community it serves through actions and programs rooted in opportunity and inclusion.

Military Appreciation Month: Starbucks commitment to serving those who serve

Military Appreciation Month and beyond: Starbucks commitment to serving those who serve

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This Veterans Day, Starbucks is honoring those who have served with a free tall hot brewed coffee for veterans, military service members and military spouses at participating U.S. Starbucks stores on Nov. 11. Starbucks is also donating 25 cents for every cup of hot brewed coffee sold that day to support the mental health of military communities.

This Veterans Day, Starbucks is honoring those who have served with a free tall (12-ounce) hot brewed coffee for veterans, military service members and military spouses at participating U.S. Starbucks stores on Nov. 11. Starbucks is also donating 25 cents for every cup of hot brewed coffee sold nationwide on Nov. 11 to be divided evenly between <a href="http://www.teamrwb.com">Team Red, White &amp; Blue</a> and <a href="http://www.getheadstrong.org">Headstrong</a> to support the mental health and the wellbeing of military communities.

“COVID brings a whole new host of stresses and challenges, especially for veterans and military families,” said Matt Kress, senior manager of Veteran and Military Affairs for Starbucks who served more than 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. “Seeking mental health treatment and providing opportunities through organizations like Headstrong and Team Red, White &amp; Blue are an important way to help veterans meet the challenges that are happening this year.”

When the battle isn’t over: Honoring veterans by supporting mental health

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Team Red, White &amp; Blue: Strengthening the mind-body connection

The mission of <a href="https://www.teamrwb.org/">Team Red, White &amp; Blue</a> (Team RWB) is to enrich the lives of America’s veterans. Team RWB offers events, workouts, and challenges at 200 locations nationwide and through the Team RWB App for veterans and supporters. Starbucks has worked with Team RWB since 2017 to support their work in building a sense of belonging, camaraderie, and inclusiveness for more than 400,000 veterans.

“Team RWB is forging the leading health and wellness community for our nation's veterans,” said Bana Miller, Director of Marketing and Communications for Team RWB. “Physical activity plays a critical role in veterans' overall mental health and well-being. We are honored to partner with Starbucks to support more veterans on their mental health journeys by offering activities, challenges, and events to challenge mental health stigma while keeping them moving.”

Headstrong: No-cost counseling for veterans

<a href="https://getheadstrong.org/">Headstrong</a> helps veterans heal the hidden wounds of war with confidential and effective mental health treatment for post-9/11 veterans and their families. Through a network of providers in 20 major metropolitan communities, Headstrong connects veterans with rapid, no-cost counseling services (through virtual visits these days) with mental health professionals who have been trained in treating military veterans, including combat-related post-traumatic stress. Starbucks <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2020/honoring-veterans-by-supporting-mental-health/">partnered with Headstrong earlier this year</a> for Military Appreciation Month in May, and is helping Headstrong open up a new Seattle-area network of providers in December.

“As a national-facing mental health treatment practice committed to delivering care to the nation’s members of the armed forces, veterans, and their family members, Headstrong remains focused on those we serve, regardless of circumstance or challenge. In the middle of this pandemic amid unrelenting demand and need, we’re thankful for partners like Starbucks pausing to help us sustain our efforts. True partners show up when times are tough, and Starbucks has been there to help us continue healing the hidden wounds of war,” said retired Army Col. Jim McDonough, Headstrong’s Executive Director.

How Starbucks is reaching out to military families

Since 2013, <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/starbucks-military-commitment/">Starbucks military commitment</a> has included the hiring of 30,000 veterans and military spouses, with a commitment to hire 5,000 more each year going forward. The company is dedicated to teaming up with service organizations who help veterans transition to civilian life, develop as leaders, and leverage their skills and passion to positively change communities. The company also operates 68 <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/starbucks-military-family-stores-a-place-to-connect/">Military Family Stores</a> across the country to help support soldiers, veterans and their families.

Starbucks is also proud to support active duty service members and has donated more than 4 million cups of coffee to deployed military units around the world with whole-bean coffee, Starbucks VIA® Instant and K-Cups®.

About Starbucks Veterans Day offer

To receive your free cup of hot brewed coffee, visit your neighborhood Starbucks. To find one near you, use the store locator feature on <a href="https://www.starbucks.com/store-locator">Starbucks.com</a> or on <a href="https://www.starbucks.com/rewards/mobile-apps">the Starbucks app</a>. Offer must be redeemed in person (not available using Order Ahead or Delivery) at participating U.S. Starbucks locations on Nov. 11, 2020. Starbucks is also donating 25 cents for every cup of hot brewed coffee sold nationwide on Veteran’s Day to support the mental health and the wellbeing of military communities.

Starbucks is honoring those who have served with a free tall hot brewed coffee for veterans, military service members and military spouses.

Serving those who serve: Free Starbucks coffee for veterans and active duty on Veterans Day

Serving those who serve: Honoring veterans, military members on Veterans Day

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This Veterans Day, Starbucks is honoring those who have served with a free tall hot brewed coffee for veterans, military service members and military spouses.

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Starbucks has hired 26,000 veterans since 2013 with a commitment to hire more and has recently added additional mental health benefits. On Veterans Day, Starbucks will donate 25 cents for every cup&nbsp;of brewed coffee sold nationwide to non-profits Team Red, White and Blue and Team Rubicon.

On a late summer evening in 2013, Mike Washington stopped by Stanley and Seafort’s, a restaurant in Tacoma, Wash., and finished off a New York strip steak. He had a few drinks, paid the bill in cash and went outside, walking until he arrived at the bridge over East 26th Street. He climbed on top of the concrete barrier at the edge, steadied himself against a light pole and wondered if he should jump.

“A sense of failure, an inability to cope, a fairly sudden realization that I’m in over my head,” says Washington, 57, trying to explain his thinking that night. “Combine that with shame and guilt and this felt like the only outlet. Let me do this and be done with it.”

Washington had always been the rock. Bald head. Linebacker frame. The guy everyone called “Top.” A Master Sergeant and counter-intelligence Marine who fought wars all over the globe. He prided himself on being “the pointy end of the spear.” A career firefighter after his service, he always rushed in. &nbsp;&nbsp;

But at that moment, his mind was foggy and he was broken and beat. Five years earlier, his 20-year-old son, Michael, also a Marine, died with three other Marines while serving in Afghanistan, victims of a roadside improvised explosive device. The death was a watershed moment for Washington, unleashing bottled-up memories from childhood, accelerating destructive behaviors and causing suicidal ideations. 

More than 6,000 U.S. <a href="https://teamrubiconusa.org/">veterans</a> died by suicide every year between 2008 and 2017, according to the <a href="https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/docs/data-sheets/2019/2019_National_Veteran_Suicide_Prevention_Annual_Report_508.pdf">2019 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report</a>, released in September by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition, studies have found that veterans deal with issues such as depression and post-traumatic stress at rates higher than the civilian population. Washington, who was previously recognized as a <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2017/upstanders-the-firefighters-rescuer/">Starbucks Upstander</a>, is partnering with Starbucks again to help companies better understand the veterans story.

On this Veterans Day, Starbucks affirms its commitment to our country’s military personnel, their families and their mental health. Starbucks believes that veterans and military spouses make our company better and our communities stronger. In fact, Starbucks has hired more than 26,000 veterans and military spouses, to help ease their transition out of service, exceeding a goal set in 2013. The company is committed to hiring 5,000 more annually going forward. 

Starbucks also dedicated its 62nd Military Family Store on Oct. 11 in Aberdeen, Md., with plans to dedicate 70 more by 2022, so soldiers, veterans and their families can have a shared space. These stores are typically near military bases and are usually staffed by veterans and their spouses.

And, in 2019, the Starbucks Foundation awarded more than $750,000 in grants to support veterans causes. One of the recent recipients is <a href="http://wearethe22.com/">We Are The 22</a>, a nonprofit based out of Conway, Ark., trying to help combat veteran suicide through direct, peer-based intervention.

Supporting mental health

In September, responding to feedback from its veterans community as well as its field partners, Starbucks announced a new mental health initiative which will increase employee access to mental health resources, training and care. Starbucks aspires to meet the unique needs of the veterans community and be a corporate leader in breaking the stigma around mental health through resources, advocacy and partnerships. 

On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, Starbucks will donate 25 cents for every cup of brewed coffee sold nationwide to be split equally between non-profits <a href="https://teamrubiconusa.org/">Team Rubicon</a>, for their work mobilizing veterans to respond to disasters and humanitarian crises around the world, and <a href="https://www.teamrwb.org/">Team Red, White and Blue</a>, for their “Ending Isolation” campaign. In addition, all veterans, active service members and their spouses will receive a free cup of coffee at participating stores.

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“Despite the continuing tragedy of veteran suicide, I am encouraged that honest conversation about mental health is emerging,” says Matt Kress, Starbucks senior manager of Veteran and Military Affairs, a 22-year Marine Corps veteran and a retired firefighter and EMT. “Veterans of all ranks and age are being more open about their challenges, which is the first step in breaking down the societal stigma around mental health.”

Coming back from the edge

For Washington, the retired Marine, his brush with suicide was the long, lonely end result of years of internalizing his experiences. As a child growing up in Hawaii and then southern California, he was molested and lived amidst poverty, alcoholism, hunger and abuse. During his career as a Marine, he saw the horrors on the Highway of Death between Kuwait and Iraq, fought in a civil war in Bosnia, deployed to Afghanistan and east Africa. Back home, as a Seattle firefighter, he walked into strange houses and sometimes saw people die. 

The low point came June 14, 2008, the day his son died. He was at Fire Station 16 in the Greenwood neighborhood in Seattle when a suburban pulled up with his wife inside. A casualty officer walked out. It was like a movie, he says, and he knew right away that Michael was dead. 

After each of those hard moments in his life, what didn’t help, Washington says, were the unhealthy messages that bubbled up, often self-inflicted: Don’t be weak. Man up. Be strong. Suck it up. Quit your complaining. Other people have it worse than you. Get over it.

“All those things you just put away, because that’s what you’re supposed to do with this stuff. You just keep putting these bricks in your backpack,” Washington says. “That backpack is pretty heavy after a while and you compensated for it and compensated for it. And at some point, everything can come crashing back down on you.

“You know, inside, I’m just crumbling. I’m imploding.”&nbsp; &nbsp;

What brought him back from the edge, literally Washington believes, was his son, a kind and caring boy who was born deaf in one ear, who took seriously his role as “man of the house” when his father was deployed. At 20, Michael was a squad leader, in charge of 12 other Marines, and was promoted to Sergeant in the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, Golf Company, with less than three years of experience.

As the elder Washington contemplated suicide that summer night, he felt “almost a physical pull” that knocked him back onto the bridge. He describes it like this: “My son, when I was ready to go over, saying, ‘Dad, this is not where your story ends. There’s more work for you to do out there and people need to hear your story, so they don’t go down this path.’ And I honestly believe that was his doing.” 

The path to stability has been hard. He got divorced. He went to therapy. He struggled to contain a volatile mix of alcohol, violence and emotions. 

But he also started to speak about his experiences to young soldiers at nearby Fort Lewis, including those who knew his son. He met Valerie, an Army veteran radio operator, who shared his struggles and kept him accountable. They married three years ago and take ballroom dance lessons together. 

He became the critical incident stress debriefer for the Seattle Fire Department so he could guide others through trauma – he works with Engine 27 in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood – and volunteered with veterans’ service organizations like Team Rubicon so he could use his unique skills and help out with disaster responses. 

Recently, with Team Rubicon, Washington was able to deploy together to the Bahamas with his daughter, Aja, a Korean linguist with the Army and now an ICU nurse, in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian. A blessing, he says. 

The outbursts still occasionally flare up, and Washington knows he’ll need a lifelong maintenance plan. He recently earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of Southern California. He wants to continue his work with veterans and first responders to get them whatever help they need. 

“There’s a lot like me, OK?” Washington says. “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel here, by doing these things, by getting the help. I put my hand up and you know, I’m working through the shame and the guilt, and getting over my self-image of who I think I am.” 

Life after the military&nbsp;

One of the biggest tension points for veterans is the transition away from military life. George Page, a Starbucks store manager in Escondido, Calif., was a Marine for 27 years, retiring as the Marine Corps Community Services operations chief. He and his team rolled satellite communications systems into combat outposts so that Marines could call home and use the internet. 

He describes his experience back to civilian life as more of a “transformation.”

“When we join the military, we are transformed into a U.S. Marine, and then we live that life,” Page says. “And then we come out, and the civilian population recognizes our service but not necessarily the transformation that came with that service, and we need to learn how to transform back.

“The corporate world doesn’t necessarily get us.” 

Page, 52, has had to learn how to change his posture in front of store partners who have no military experience and to laugh, smile and use humor to defuse stressful situations. Part of the first wave of 10,000 hired in 2013 as part of Starbucks’ veterans hiring initiative, Page wants to dispel the myth that all veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress. &nbsp;

Joshua Evans, a Starbucks store manager in Frederick, Md., located west of Baltimore, says it was difficult to translate his military experience into a resume that fit what employers wanted. He was a chemical operations specialist who worked on bomb patrols with the Army. On deployment in Kuwait, he herniated a disc moving 150-pound shields off military Humvees. Doctors put a titanium rod in his back. He pivoted to satellite communications and retired from the military in 2015 after his body started to break down. 

“It gets to the point where you wake up in the morning, and you’re mapping out which job fairs you’re going to,” Evans explains. “By the end of the day, you’re home online, doing regular daddy household stuff, on job sites, employment websites, looking for stuff, figuring how to translate these amazing skills you got in the military and trying to word them right for a civilian audience. That’s a daily thing. 

“You go to sleep answering questions to the wife of why that interview didn’t work out, and why that opportunity didn’t work out, and the stress just starts building. We dwindled through savings. Bills are starting to stack up. Watching your credit score drop. I don’t want to be late on a house payment. All the stressors start amplifying massively.” 

‘They give us a place and welcome us’

He was standing in line at a job fair at Nationals Park, where the Washington D.C. professional baseball team plays, when a Starbucks recruiter – a former Marine – approached him. He interviewed right away with some district managers and within a few months, he was managing his own store.&nbsp; 

“Starbucks has gotten it right because they give us a place and they welcome us,” Evans says. “It’s given that sense of community back.” 

Evans also found relief on the water. He’s now a competitive kayak fisherman who takes other veterans out on the water to find a bit of freedom and peace of mind. He’s trying to start a movement called #catch22, a hashtag for comprehensive fishing therapy resources for veterans. 

“In the military, if something bad goes down, you’re trained to respond and react to people who come at you with aggression,” Evans says. “You have to retrain yourself to not respond that way. You have to take it for what it is and still find a way to be cordial and professional and polite. There are parallels with the military in the taking care of people aspect of it (as a Starbucks store manager). But the way you approach your day and the way you approach your negatives and positives, those are different, there’s a lot of adjustment there. 

“I’ve found a lot of growth in myself in the last couple years as a person,” he says. “I’ve dialed that stuff down to be a guider, a mentor and a source of positivity and growth in our community, and do all these things that before I was in the Army, that were not ever even a thought.” 

Starbucks expands support to veterans’ mental health - Starbucks Stories

Starbucks expands support to veterans’ mental health

Starbucks reaffirms its commitment to veterans, their families, and their mental health.

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Vietnam veteran Victor Gelner found relief from decades of post-traumatic stress in an unlikely place: jumping from a plane 13,000 feet in the air. He started skydiving five years ago and soon after, so did many of his favorite Starbucks baristas who often join him in support.

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — Victor Gelner, 82, jumps out of airplanes more often than most people buy milk.

An Army veteran, Gelner experienced decades of significant post-traumatic stress after serving in Vietnam beginning in 1962 – night sweats, flashbacks, bad dreams, hyper vigilance, irritability and even suicidal thoughts.

“They call them invisible wounds,” Gelner said. “I guess that’s what PTSD is.”

The retired Army sergeant major said a bright spot for him is his daily visit to the Starbucks Military Family Store near Fort Carson in Colorado Springs. It was there one day five years ago that Gelner overheard a couple of younger veterans discussing their own struggles with mental health, and how of all the treatments they’d tried, it was skydiving that made them feel better. Which is how Gelner, at 78 years old, found himself strapped to a skydiving instructor in a tiny plane 13,000 feet in the air about to put gravity to the test. What happened next was nothing short of lifechanging.

“When you go out of that plane and you’re freefalling at 120 miles per hour, the adrenaline – it does something to the brain. Nothing else matters in your mind. Any problems you may have, you don’t even think about them. Your whole self is looking down at that ground and then you pull the ripcord, and then the chute opens, and you’re floating. It’s so quiet,” Gelner said. 

After his first jump, Gelner felt better than he had in a long time. He stopped at Starbucks on his way to tell store manager Jennifer Roxburgh all about it. 

“You have got to try this,” he told her. She laughed. Other store partners wandered by as they spoke, and pretty soon a handful of Starbucks baristas had volunteered to jump with him. Gelner, who has now logged more than 200 tandem jumps, has skydived with his favorite Starbucks baristas several times, including this weekend in honor of Veteran’s Day.

“Skydiving makes me happy,” he said. “ I’m not the same person I was before I started.”

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Starbucks has long committed to supporting our country’s military personnel, their families and their mental health. The company has hired more than 26,000 veterans and military spouses to help ease their transition out of service, exceeding a goal set in 2013, and is committed to hiring 5,000 more annually going forward. <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/starbucks-reaffirms-its-commitment-to-veterans/">Read more</a> about how veterans and military spouses make our company better and our communities stronger.

Above and beyond: Baristas join 82-year-old skydiving customer - Starbucks Stories

Above and beyond: Baristas join 82-year-old skydiving customer

At 78, Vietnam veteran Victor Gelner found relief from decades of post-traumatic stress in an unlikely place: jumping from a plane 13,000 feet in the air.

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This page shows data from our 2018 Report. For the most up-to-date goals and progress, see our <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2022/starbucks-global-environmental-and-social-impact-report-2021/">2021 Global Environmental &amp; Social Impact Report</a>.

We believe opportunities thrive every day in our stores. It’s inherent in our values, the benefits that we provide for our partners, and the way we work to make a difference in our communities and around the planet. It is rooted in our belief that it is possible to do good in the world and do well in business at the same time.

We hope to not just create opportunity, but equal opportunity. In March 2018 we announced we had achieved 100 percent pay equity for men and women and people of all races in the United States performing similar work&nbsp;along with a commitment to achieve gender pay equity in all company-owned markets globally. We announced&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/pay-equity-around-the-globe/">100 percent gender pay equity in Canada and China</a> one year later, and have joined the&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/25-companies-join-starbucks-to-end-u-s-gender-pay-gap/">Employers for Pay Equity consortium</a> to help close the U.S. gender pay gap. We strive to make our workplace an inclusive one, supporting&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2017/support-for-daca-and-dreamers-we-stand-with-our-partners/">our DACA partners and all Dreamers</a> and efforts to offer a second chance to Americans who have been incarcerated. We have <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2018/they-are-lifesaving-starbucks-offers-expanded-benefits-for-trans-people/">expanded benefits for transgender partners</a> and been recognized as&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2017/human-rights-campaign-recognizes-starbucks-as-top-employer/">a top employer for LGBTQ workplace equality</a>.

We are investing in pathways to opportunity through employment, education and training. Since Starbucks began offering partners an online bachelor’s degree program through Arizona State University with full tuition coverage,&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/starbucks-college-graduates-where-are-they-now/">more than 2,400 have graduated</a> and 12,000 more are currently enrolled. There is no requirement to stay with the company: graduates are free to pursue their dreams wherever they take them.

We have made a&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2017/starbucks-expands-hiring-goals/">series of hiring commitments</a> to welcome new partners from communities that may experience barriers to employment, with goals to hire 25,000 veterans and military spouses; 10,000 refugees; and 100,000 young adults not currently working or in school.

And we’re finding new ways to engage partners in meaningful initiatives. We recently completed a six-month pilot for the&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2018/starbucks-new-innovative-employer-led-service-program/">Starbucks Service Fellows</a> with 36 Starbucks store partners working 20 hours in their store each week while spending another 20 hours with a local nonprofit. These models will inform how we catalyze our partners to build enduring change in our communities.

Goal: Hire 25,000 veterans and military spouses by 2025 Since 2013, we’ve hired 22,500&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/productions/veterans/">veterans and military spouses</a>, including 3,000 in 2018, and reached the milestone of 50 Military Family Stores.

Goal: Employ 100,000 Opportunity Youth by 2020 Since launching the&nbsp;<a href="https://100kopportunities.org/">100,000 Opportunities Initiative</a> coalition with other employers in 2015, Starbucks has hired 71,145 Opportunity Youth, 16- to 24-year-olds who are out of work and not in school.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Goal: Employ 10,000 refugees globally by 2022 We have welcomed and hired 1,672 refugees in the United States, Canada and Europe.&nbsp;We rely on partners to self-identify, which leads us to believe the total number of refugees hired is actually much higher.

Goal: Graduate 25,000 partners by 2025 through the Starbucks College Achievement Plan 12,000 partners are currently enrolled in the program and 2,400 have earned a bachelor’s degree since 2014. We are also&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2017/starbucks-pathway-to-admission-program/">building accessibility</a> and improving performance through our <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2017/starbucks-pathway-to-admission-program/">Pathways program.</a>

Goal: At the senior leadership level, 50% women and a 50% increase in representation by people of color over 2015 Among our senior leaders (senior vice presidents and above) 42% are women, an increase of 13% since 2015, and 19% are people of color, which is the same percentage as 2015. We have seen an increase in representation for people of color at the vice president and director levels since 2015.

100% Pay Equity in U.S.; Gender Equity in Pay in Canada and China

Goal: 100% global&nbsp;gender pay&nbsp;equity in U.S. and company-owned markets We have reached an annual 100% percent pay equity for partners of all genders and races performing similar work across the United States from 2017-2019. In March 2019, we announced that we have achieved gender pay equity in Canada and China. We have also joined with other U.S. companies to <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/25-companies-join-starbucks-to-end-u-s-gender-pay-gap/">help eliminate the gender pay gap nationwide</a>.

<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/2018-starbucks-global-social-impact-report/">2018 Global Social Impact Report</a>

2018 Report: Creating Opportunities - Starbucks Stories

We are investing in pathways to opportunity through employment, education and training to build enduring change in our partners and our communities.

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2018 Report: Creating Opportunities

Creating Opportunities

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