Nov. 10--In hot water with some traditionalists over its unadorned red Christmas cups, Starbucks should fare better on Veterans Day after announcing this week that it is extending free college tuition to the families of veterans employed by the coffee chain.
The Seattle-based company already offers free college tuition to more than 4,000 veterans through a partnership with Arizona State University. The program enables former and current military members who work at least 20 hours a week at Starbucks to attend the school online and earn a bachelor's degree.
Extending the offer to family members was based on feedback from veterans, according to Laurel Harper, a Starbucks spokeswoman.
"Our veteran partners shared with us that the benefit was a tremendous opportunity, but many weren't taking advantage of the program because they had already earned a bachelor's degree," Harper said Tuesday. "We're thrilled to enhance the program in this way and give our veterans the opportunity to say thank you to their family for their sacrifices while they served our country."
In 2013, Starbucks launched an initiative to hire 10,000 military veterans and spouses within five years. The company has surpassed the halfway mark, with 5,500 hires to date, according to Harper.
Starbucks is also offering other perks Wednesday in honor of Veterans Day, including a free cup of coffee for active-duty service members, reservists, veterans and military spouses at more than 7,500 company-operated stores in the U.S., Harper said.
rchannick@tribpub.com
