Volunteer Connection/Starbucks/HandsOn Network's I'm In! Campaign

Boulder County 1/21/09. “Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America. For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.” Starbucks and HandsOn Network affiliate Volunteer Connection are joining to launch the “I’m In!” campaign, an initiative to make it easy to participate in the President Obama’s call for service. In participating Starbucks stores across the nation and in Boulder County, the American public will have an opportunity to pledge five hours or more of community service toward a local volunteer opportunity of choice. Starbucks will honor each person who pledges with a free tall brewed coffee beginning Wednesday, Jan. 21 through Sunday, Jan. 25. The goal of the effort is to raise pledges in excess of one million hours of service from all over the country.



“When thousands of people add their five hours together to local agencies in Boulder County, we will feel the impact,” says Laura Kinder, executive director of Volunteer Connection. “Boulder County has a strong and diverse nonprofit sector that reaches into the lives of people in our communities and into communities around the world. Our work addresses the important issues of the day – poverty, homelessness, literacy, violence, global warming – and I witness every day the people of Boulder County stepping forward to embrace their power to make a difference in ending these issues. I am thrilled to have Starbucks giving their customers the opportunity to join in the work that makes our communities strong for all.”



“Five hours is just 25 minutes a month for a year, two afternoons at a food bank creating care packages, a day reading to children at a hospital or in a park planting trees,” said Vivek Varma, senior vice president of Global Affairs, Starbucks Coffee Company. “We hope to help spark a new spirit of volunteerism by exceeding a million pledge hours and HandsOn Network is the perfect partner to allow our customers to join us in a renewed national commitment to community service.”



“HandsOn Network is excited to join forces with Starbucks. We have witnessed the partnerships between corporations and nonprofits grow more creative and this type of collaboration is a powerful way to reach scale and truly create a movement. Starbucks is the catalyst to reach millions of volunteers and HandsOn equips, activates and provides the much needed resources to help America fulfill the commitments made from this initiative,” said Michelle Nunn, chief executive officer. “HandsOn has over 270 HandsOn Action Centers located in the United States and works with over 31,000 nonprofit organizations. A quick online questionnaire can steer consumers toward a fulfilling volunteer opportunity.”





How to Participate at Your Local Starbucks

· Visit Starbucks:

You can join the “I’m In” campaign, part of the Starbucks™ Shared Planet™ commitment to community involvement, when visiting a local participating Starbucks beginning Wednesday, Jan. 21 (and continuing through Sunday, Jan. 25). Stop by the “I’m In” display featuring community pledge cards, pick up the card, and fill it out with your five-hour commitment to volunteer.

· Pledge Five:

Place the “I’m In” sticker from the pledge card on your lapel, signifying your pledge, and take the card with you as a reminder to keep the effort going. As a thank you, each customer who pledges five hours of their own time will receive a complimentary tall cup of brewed coffee. In Boulder County Starbucks pick up the card with Volunteer Connection’s website address. The website contains more than 400 volunteer opportunities with nonprofits, service groups and muncipalities that make an impact everyday locally, statewide, nationally and globally.

· Track Success:

Customers can log on to pledge5.starbucks.com to record pledge hours, find local volunteer opportunities via the HandsOn Network, track hours pledged-to-date, and receive updates on the campaign.





About Volunteer Connection

Volunteer Connection's mission is to engage and connect people as volunteers to non-profit and service agencies with volunteer opportunities and strengthen these organizations through resources, training, and education in Boulder County and surrounding areas. http://www.volunteerconnection.net



About HandsOn Network

HandsOn Network is a national nonprofit whose core mission is to equip, mobilize and inspire people to take action that changes the world. More information on the organization is at http://www.handsonnetwork.org/ .



About Starbucks

Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting the highest quality arabica coffee in the world. Today, with stores around the globe, the company is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup. For more information on Starbucks™ Shared Planet™ please visit www.starbucks.com/sharedplanet. To share in the experience, please visit us in our stores or online at www.starbucks.com

Contacts:
Laura Kinder, Volunteer Connection, work-303-444-4904
laurak@volunteerconnection.net
Niles Emerick, Starbucks - Baseline & Broadway, work 303-494-5109 naemerick@gmail.com