Continuing Its Long-term Commitment to Provide Pathways to Opportunity for Young People, Starbucks Makes a Donation from Each Cup of Teavana® Oprah Chai to Benefit Youth Organizations Including Girls Inc., National CARES Mentoring Movement, Pathways to College and U.S. Dream Academy

With the Purchase of Every Teavana® Oprah Cinnamon Chai Latte, April 9-11 from 2-5 p.m., Customers Receive a Second One for Free to Share with a Friend

Seattle (April 6, 2015)

Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX)today announced that through its partnership with Oprah Winfrey, global media leader and philanthropist, which began a year ago, sales of Teavana® Oprah Chai have now raised more than $5 million for youth organizations in the U.S. and Canada.

To celebrate this significant milestone and to thank customers, Starbucks is inviting customers to come into participating U.S. and Canada Starbucks stores Thursday, April 9 through Saturday, April 11, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. local time. For every purchase of a Teavana® Oprah Cinnamon Chai Latte, customers will receive a free Teavana® Oprah Cinnamon Chai Latte of equal or lesser value to share. Starbucks will donate twenty-five cents for both beverages to support youth education. 100 percent of all proceeds made to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation from Teavana® Oprah Chai goes to the Foundation, which in turn provides further funding to Girls Inc., National CARES Mentoring Movement, Pathways to College and U.S. Dream Academy. For more information about these efforts, visit oprah.com/chai.

“Starbucks and Teavana, in partnership with Oprah Winfrey and organizations like Girls Inc., are investing in our future leaders, recognizing that education, training and mentorship are critical assets for youth across the U.S. and Canada,” said Annie Young-Scrivner, president, Teavana. “Customers can join in this meaningful give-back April 9-11, and when they buy one Teavana Oprah Cinnamon Chai Latte they will receive a second one to share; Starbucks will pay the donation for both beverages. This is just one way to say thank you to our customers for their support of Teavana® Oprah Chai. Together we can create pathways for future opportunities for young people, an objective which all three organizations share.”

Oprah Winfrey visited with the young women from Girls Inc. who have benefited in part because of Teavana® Oprah Chai to celebrate the year anniversary and to discuss the importance of education. Some of these young women will be featured in a special Teavana Oprah Chai TV spot that runs this week on NBC during “The Voice” and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

Distinctive Teavana® Oprah Chai Tea Blend

Teavana® Oprah Chai Tea was personally developed by Oprah Winfrey in close collaboration with Teavana’s leading teaologist Naoko Tsunoda. Oprah’s personal passion for tea coupled with Teavana’s expertise in tea and botanical sourcing and blending have resulted in a distinctive bold and “spiced up” infusion. Cinnamon-forward notes are unique to Oprah Chai and balanced with ginger, cardamom, and cloves blended with black tea and rooibos. Customers can enjoy the blend as a handcrafted latte or loose-leaf tea in participating Starbucks stores across the U.S. and Canada. The loose-leaf tea and brewed tea are available in select Teavana stores across the U.S. and Canada.

Every Cup Can Make a Difference in A Young Person’s Life

Girls Inc., National CARES Mentoring Movement, Pathways to College and U.S. Dream Academy depend on fundraising efforts and alliances such as the collaboration between Starbucks and Oprah Winfrey.

“Girls Inc. is honored to be celebrating this one year anniversary with Oprah Winfrey, Starbucks and Teavana as we partner to advance opportunities for thousands of girls,” said Judy Vredenburgh, President and CEO, Girls Inc. “We are committed to inspiring girls to be strong, smart, and bold and promote the ability of all girls to achieve academic success and higher education. We are so thankful for Oprah’s, Starbucks, and Teavana’s leadership in supporting our mission.”

“The generous support of Oprah Winfrey and Starbucks this past year has allowed us to both expand and deepen our in-school mentoring program, The Rising, which seeks to socially, emotionally and academically undergird the lives of thousands of the nation’s most defenseless children served by our volunteer army of mentors.” said Susan L. Taylor, Founder and CEO of the National CARES Mentoring Movement. “This is a shining example of the collaborative, visionary leadership so needed in the world today.”

“Again and again, Pathways to College uncovers and nurtures potential where others may overlook it,” said Judith Griffin, CEO of Pathways to College.  “The partnership of Oprah Winfrey, Starbucks and Teavana has put us on a trajectory that is changing the prospects of many children far into the future.  Investing in Pathways is investing in America.”

“We are grateful to Oprah, Starbucks and Teavana for this incredible opportunity to work together to make change in the communities where we live, work and serve. The financial support we’ve received has made it possible for us to expand our programs to reach even more young people with mentoring and academic support,” said Wintley Phipps, CEO and Founder, U.S. Dream Academy. “And the Starbucks and Teavana partners (employees) across the country have provided a special touch to each of our local Dream Academy Learning Centers through their warm reception of this initiative and their outreach to our local staff and students.”

Starbucks and Teavana are more committed than ever to giving back to local communities and serving young people. Starbucks has recently made a commitment to hire 10,000 young people who are not in school or are unemployed over the next 3 years, and Starbucks is also making college education possible for thousands of employees through the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, which has 2,000 partners enrolled in the program, with a goal to graduate 25,000 partners by 2025.

About Starbucks Corporation

Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high quality arabica coffee. 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. To share in the experience, please visit us in our stores or online at www.starbucks.com.

About Teavana

Teavana offers high quality teas and a unique in-store experience to new tea drinkers and tea connoisseurs alike. Acquired by Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) in 2012, Teavana immerses customers in a full tea experience where they can learn more about the ritual and enjoyment of tea with products available in more than 300 locations including Teavana tea bars, shopping malls, and Starbucks® stores.  Teavana offers premium tea accessories and an array of loose leaf teas, including Teavana Oprah Chai, created in partnership with Ms. Oprah Winfrey. For more information, visit www.teavana.com, become a member of our bold tea community at https://www.facebook.com/teavana or follow Teavana on Twitter for our latest updates at https://www.twitter.com/teavana.

About Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation provides funding for the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls – South Africa and is dedicated to helping its graduates attend colleges and universities. In December 2000, during a visit with Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey pledged to build a school for girls in South Africa. In January 2007, the doors opened to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls – South Africa. Through the Foundation, Oprah has contributed to the empowerment of scores of girls and their families.

About Girls Inc.

Girls Inc. inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold, providing over 140,000 girls across the U.S. and Canada with life-changing experiences and real solutions to the unique issues girls face. Girls Inc. gives girls the right tools and support to succeed, including trained professionals who mentor and guide them in a safe, girls-only environment, peers who share their drive and aspirations, and research-based programming. At Girls Inc., girls learn to set and achieve goals, boldly confront challenges, resist peer pressure, see college as attainable, and explore nontraditional fields such as STEM. Informed by the experiences of girls and their families, Girls Inc. works with policymakers to advocate on key legislation and initiatives. With Girls Inc. in her corner, every girl can be healthy, educated, and independent.

About National CARES Mentoring Movement

The National CARES Mentoring Movement, a community-engagement movement, was created in 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina with the goal of ensuring that our nation’s impoverished children are encircled by caring adults and offered a sure pathway out of poverty. Willing and present to help bring struggling children to promise is a growing army of CARES mentors, recruited, trained and deployed to schools and youth-serving organizations in desperate need of tutors, role models and inspiration.

Research shows that mentoring is a low-cost, high-results solution to a deepening crisis, and when done well can redirect even the most challenged youngsters’ lives. Working through 58 local CARES Mentor-Recruitment Affiliates across the nation, National CARES, has recruited more than 125,000 mentors. Presently, three million children are receiving mentoring services in the United States, and there are 15 million children in critical need of greater adult guidance and love. Deepening its commitment to secure and advance vulnerable youngsters, National CARES is building group-mentoring, consciousness-changing, replicable programs designed to override the crises that children in unstable communities face each day and that are derailing their lives.

The National CARES Mentoring Movement’s innovative Rising Initiatives focus on the social, emotional and academic development of children and the wellness of the adults who mentor, parent and guide them. Linking arms and aims with committed partners, and employing evidence-based programs and strategies, National CARES assures that all of our nation’s children will soar and realize the full measure of their promise and dreams.

About Pathways to College

Pathways to College provides motivated teens with the information, guidance and support they need to become the best high school students, college applicants, and college graduates they can be. Pathways has developed a successful strategy that links college access with school improvement.  At each participating high school, up to 100 high-potential students with a broad range of academic accomplishments are identified and paired with committed teachers who work with students after school hours as a structured teaching/learning team. Pathways students are also coached to be intentional, productive school leaders who model success for their peers and demonstrate that a college degree is an achievable goal, thereby positively and demonstrably impacting their school’s climate.  Since establishment as an independent non-profit in 2003, nearly 2,500 students have been enrolled and 100% of graduates have been accepted by at least one college.

About U.S. Dream Academy

Established in 1998, U.S. Dream Academy is a national afterschool and mentoring program that helps our nation’s children reach for their dreams. We empower those children most at risk of incarceration to maximize their potential by providing them with academic, social and values enrichment through supportive mentoring and the use of technology. The vision is to create an army of young men and women with positive dreams for their lives, equipped with the tools to make those dreams a reality. U.S. Dream Academy’s newest initiative is focused on accelerating the reading levels of 3rd grade students using innovative and research based reading strategies combined with positive youth development principles. We seek to increase the protective factors and academic performance of our students to ensure successful graduation from high school.  Academic achievement decreases the risk of future incarceration significantly.

Download the full press release.