Collaborating with our community to encourage reading

Over the Christmas period, Starbucks Coffee in Spain raised money to buy books, which we will be donating to schools in neighbourhoods close to our coffee shops. For further information click here.

"Harrar Makes a Difference"

In 2007, Starbucks launched a new three year collaboration project known as ‘Harrar Makes a Difference’. Through this programme, we aim to make a positive contribution to the communities in which we work, by raising awareness among our partners (employees) and encouraging them to get involved in voluntary activities whilst at the same time supporting development programmes in coffee producing countries.

Thanks to this project, which ran from September to November, Starbucks set aside €10 for each hour our partners spent working as volunteers. The money raised is being invested in a literacy centre (teaching people to read and write) in Ethiopia, in the village of Gewgew Dingete, in association with the humanitarian organisation CARE.

Through this initiative, 145 of our partners spent a total of 889 hours working as volunteers in projects to support our neighbouring communities. Entertainment activities for children in nearby schools, storytelling and face painting at fetes and celebrations in the town of El Álamo, support for the homeless, organising activities as part of the “Noche en Blanco” cultural event in Madrid, taking care of the elderly… these are just a few examples of the activities that our groups of volunteers have carried out over the past year.

In 2008, we have decided to continue with the “Harrar Makes a Difference” programme because we firmly believe that we can only truly make a difference through long term commitment, both in our local communities in Spain and those of our African coffee producers.