"Skipping Starbucks" Challenge

On Monday, December 1, Starbucks will be giving 5 cents to (RED) and AIDS research in Africa. Sounds pretty sweet, right?

I was pretty excited about the (Starbucks) RED idea until it really hit me. 5 CENTS per drink? Really? That's a little bogus. They're going to make how much more because people want to "do good" with a cup of coffee that they may not have originally purchased and they're only going to give 5 CENTS of that to charity? And a charity that's not local or even in the US - it's for AFRICAN AIDS programs!

Don't get me wrong, (RED) is a good cause. But, sometimes the US needs to help those in the US FIRST and I think we tend to forget that there are homeless, sick and hurt in our own country just as there are in other places. And don't get me wrong - I like Starbucks just fine myself (had a cup while I was at Target today...). I just think we can do better than buying coffee and donating only 5 cents to charity.

So - I hereby offer a challenge to all you Starbucks drinkers who may want to do some REAL good for charity this holiday season...

Instead of buying Starbucks this one month, put that money aside for charity instead. If you can't live without for a whole month, do it for 2 weeks - or even just 1 week. Imagine that instead of a company giving up 5 cents per drink toward a charity, you could be putting anywhere from $5 to 50 to even 100 dollars toward one of your choosing (which could still be (RED), by the way)!

I know that I personally get a venti white mocha with flavor at least once a week - usually Friday to get through our Account Service meetings. Regular coffee would do just as well in this case but I use that meeting as my excuse to have a "real" cup of coffee. If I skip that one-a-week this month, that's about $5 / wk or $20 for the month. Then there's also the 1 or 2 times a week that a co-worker goes to Starbucks in the afternoon and I get a cup then too. Or the occasional coffee cake or muffin or what-have-you. That's another $20 a month - minimum! That's at least $40 towards a charity *I* strongly believe in, instead of indulging in over-priced (but oh-so-yummy) coffee!

There are so many charities in KC alone that could use every penny of that money. Operation Breakthrough comes first to mind, as it is the beneficiary for our holiday sweater party. There's cancer groups (Cancer Action, KU Cancer Center or Back in the Swing), leukemia groups, Harvesters or even the Zoo! Any way you slice it, you would be doing more good by NOT drinking Starbucks for one month than by buying one cup on one specific day. And if you don't know where to send your money here locally, just ask me - I've got more than a few suggestions of great charities (beyond those linked above...)!

For those who work with me, I'll have a special "Skipping Starbucks" can setup at the office. Feel free to put your coffee money in there - donations in that can will be given exclusively to Operation Breakthrough. For those who aren't privileged enough to work for DEG, please think about setting up your own "collection plate" and setting an example. Office coffee may not be the best, but for one month can you live with it, right? Rest assured, once December is over, you'll feel good about what you chose to do!

(Not a Starbucks drinker? Not a problem! Pick another restaurant or activity that you do that you could really live without for this month and put the money from that away. Every little bit will help!)