In Response To Something I Posted Last Friday

[Dinger]

I posted something on behalf of a DEM friend of mine last Friday, about Starbucks and someone who started some crap about Starbucks not letting U.S. soldiers get coffee from them. I sent them a letter and got their e-mail response today, which I thought was excellent. Here it is:

Dear Ms. "Dinger",



Thank you for taking the time to contact Starbucks regarding coffee donations to those serving in our armed forces.



Currently, there is an e-mail circulating the internet that contains misinformation about Starbucks and our support of the military. Starbucks was able to locate the author, a Marine sergeant. He was very grateful that we contacted him and apologized for any misunderstanding; he did not intend to spread a rumor. He subsequently sent an e-mail to his original distribution list correcting his mistake, which is included at the end of this letter.



Starbucks has a long history of contributing product, time and funding to a wide variety of local, national and international non-profit organizations. In addition, Starbucks has the deepest respect and admiration for U.S. military personnel. We are extremely grateful to the men and women who serve stateside and overseas.



Starbucks, our customers and partners believe that it is critically important to support our men and women serving their country in times of conflict. There are numerous examples of Starbucks Coffee Company and our partners supporting the troops. Each week Starbucks partners receive one free pound of coffee. Many partners have collected their free coffee and shipped numerous pounds of Starbucks coffee overseas. For instance, partners in our Atascadero, California store sent their weekly allotment of coffee to troops in Afghanistan so they would be able to enjoy a little taste of home. Our Customer Relations and Information Technology departments in Seattle donated thousands of pounds of coffee to the sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln and troops in Mosul, Iraq.



These are just a few of the many examples of our partners supporting the troops. We recognize and appreciate the very personal connection customers have with us and how they might miss their Starbucks Experience while serving overseas. Additionally, we are humbled that the troops request Starbucks coffee.



To enhance our partners' outstanding grassroots efforts in support of the U.S. military troops, Starbucks is honored to extend our relationship with the American Red Cross in order to provide the comfort of coffee to relief efforts during times of conflict. In November 2004, Starbucks donated 50,000 pounds of coffee to the American Red Cross for distribution to those troops serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait. The Company made this contribution through the American Red Cross as part of its long-term, ongoing commitment to share the comfort of coffee during times of conflict.



Sincerely,



Daniel M.

Customer Relations

Starbucks Coffee Company





After Starbucks contacted the author of the email rumor, a Marine sergeant, he sent an e-mail to his original distribution list correcting his mistake, the text of which is:



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.



Now I ask that you all pass this email around to everyone you passed the last one to.

Thank you very much for understanding about this.



Howard C. Wright

Sgt USMC

1st Force Rcon Co

1st Plt PLT RTO



Dated: August 17, 2004



Additional confirmation that this is an inaccurate rumor can be found at:

<http://www.boycottwatch.org/misc/starbucks2.htm>http://www.boycottwatch.org/misc/starbucks2.htm,

<http://truthminers.com/truth/starbucks.htm>http://truthminers.com/truth/starbucks.htm

<http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/starbucks-iraq.htm>http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/starbucks-iraq.htm

<http://www.amillionthanks.org/>http://www.aMillionThanks.org

<http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/starbucks.asp>http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/starbucks.asp

<http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/HBUrbanMyths.shtml#starbucks>http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/HBUrbanMyths.shtml#starbucks

[dhinojosa]

1. I didn't fall for it at all.

It smelled like a hoax from the start.

[Lex]

2. This one's been around a while.

An oldie but goodie. I can't believe it's still circulating.

[uppityperson]

3. always check Snopes before sending this stuff on

http://snopes2.com/
They have all sorts of urban legends, tell what is true what isn't. Includes sections for viruses, military, animals, etc.