After all the indulgence of Thanksgiving, Starbucks is embracing Giving Tuesday by announcing its first regional fundraising initiative today, joining with Seattle’s King County business leaders in an unprecedented effort to raise more than $3 million to ensure “No Child Sleeps Outside.”
In partnership with the Schultz Family Foundation, Starbucks will support the “No Child Sleeps Outside” initiative, an annual campaign led by Mary’s Place.
But this effort needs you too. In addition to a $1 million financial contribution to the “No Child Sleeps Outside” campaign, The Starbucks Foundation will match every dollar donated by customers in participating King County Starbucks stores between December 1st and 31st (up to an additional $1 million dollars) to help shelter local families.
Together Starbucks and the Schultz Family Foundation will contribute over $3 million to provide safe emergency shelter for the estimated 500 unsheltered families in King County, including hundreds of children.
“The 500 families with small children who are sleeping outside in King County cannot wait for the promised reforms and housing that will take a year or more,” said Howard Schultz, chairman and chief executive officer of Starbucks and co-founder of the Schultz Family Foundation. “We need to treat this daily tragedy with the same urgency that would follow any natural disaster. This is a short-term but urgent humanitarian need, and we are proud to join other Seattle employers in the No Child Sleeps Outside campaign.”
Mary’s Place is a 17-year-old privately funded emergency shelter organization with six locations throughout Seattle’s King County. The shelter provides emergency aid to 115-120 families per night, but is forced to turn away more than 20 families a day due to a lack of capacity.
“King County is facing an unprecedented homelessness crisis and more than 500 families are sleeping outside each night in places unfit for habitation,” said Marty Hartman, executive director of Mary’s Place. “It breaks our hearts to have to turn them away each day. We are so incredibly grateful for the support of our business partners like Starbucks, Microsoft, the Schultz Family Foundation and so many others who are making it possible for us to expand our services and bring more families inside to warmth, safety, and stability.”
The campaign also has the support of companies like Microsoft Corp., Dick’s Drive-In, Comcast, Alaska Airlines, Weyerhaeuser, Expedia, Nordstrom, Bank of America, Key Bank Foundation, Group Health, Seattle Mariners, as well as the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Seattle Assn.
“No child should have to sleep outside at night. We must come together as a community to address this vital need as a local imperative,” said Brad Smith, Microsoft president. “We are pledging $1 million, including $250,000 to Mary’s Place, to address homelessness across King County. We will support partners throughout the area to pursue both short- and long-term systemic solutions, including permanent housing.”
Howard and Sheri Schultz, co-founders of the Schultz Family Foundation, are also personally contributing $1 million to Mary’s Place through the Schultz Family Foundation to expand both shelter capacity and the organization’s ability to move families into permanent housing.
[jwplayer djLlnBdi]
