Cover for pdf - Starbucks

T A Z O A N D M E R C Y C O R P S
Tazo Tea Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Starbucks, forged a partnership in
2002 with Mercy Corps, an international humanitarian aid organization. Together, they
created a project called CHAI – Collaboration for Hope and Advancement in India. The
project supports community development in the tea-growing district of Darjeeling, India,
the origin of some of the finest teas available in the world and home to many of Tazo’s
suppliers.
Under Mercy Corps’ direction, CHAI is focused on three areas: health (access to water
and improved waste management), youth development and vocational training, and
local community development through self-governing bodies. In fiscal 2003, the project
established a field office in the region, hired and trained local staff, conducted needs
assessments and launched health and vocational projects in 12 remote communities.
Constructing latrines and other water infrastructure, building roads and footpaths, and
reforestation activities will begin next year in 24 villages.
A total minimum pledge of $600,000, payable over three years, was made by Tazo, its
suppliers (including tea growers, traders and brokers) and Starbucks. In fiscal 2003, the
amount contributed to CHAI by all the parties totaled $240,000, which included $100,000
from Starbucks.
C O F F E E K I D S
For the third consecutive year, Starbucks supported Coffee Kids, an international
nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of coffee-farming
families, with a contribution of $25,000. These funds helped provide micro-credit loans
to 4,460 women and their families in Veracruz, Mexico, and Matagalpa, Nicaragua.
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A Mercy Corps staff member (center)
meets with local villagers in the
Darjeeling region of India to discuss
the goals of Tazo’s CHAI project.
“The generous and
committed support of
Starbucks has helped
thousands of families help
themselves.”
— Bill Fishbein, founder and executive
director, Coffee Kids
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