Starbucks Partners Come Together for World Aids Day
Join the Starbucks Canada Pride Partner (employee) Network in the fight against HIV and commemorating the lives lost to AIDS-related illnesses on World Aids Day (December 1) and see how we can all take action to uplift our communities.
The impact of AIDS is felt around the globe in communities and homes near and far. An estimated 38.4 million people worldwide are living with HIV as of the end of 2021 and 650,000 000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses in that same year, according to the UNAIDS. Progress is being made, but still four decades into the HIV response, inequalities persist for the most basic services like testing and treatment.
This is why the Starbucks Canada Pride, Black, Pan-Asian and Indigenous Partner Networks are teaming up with MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, and I-AM.health, a first-in-Canada national program to raise awareness and action on HIV self-testing. Starbucks partners (employees) can visit I-AM.health/StarbucksPN to know their status and get access to free and completely anonymous HIV self-testing.
“It is so special to collectively come together as Partner Networks, a vast and diverse representation of the Starbucks partner population, to raise awareness and action about HIV self-testing that is free and confidential, while also encouraging our partners to take their health into their own hands with such an incredible program like I’m Ready to Know. With World Aids Day around the corner, we wanted to show solidarity and demonstrate how our partners are united with the cause.”
Steven Snyder, co-chair of Canada Pride Partner Network
Partner Network Member Spotlight
At Starbucks, partner networks help create connections over shared experiences and values, encourage professional growth, raise awareness of important issues and serve as a bridge between our stores and the communities we serve. Israel (he/him), a three-year partner and member of the Canada Pride Partner Network shares his journey on educating his self and others about HIV.
“I grew up in a conservative and religious environment, and that had a huge impact on my knowledge of sexual health. I had no exposure to LGBTQ or HIV education and there was no one in my community to guide me through the experience of being a queer youth. It wasn't until I moved to Toronto and started as a Starbucks barista that I met partners (employees) who shared their knowledge and experiences with me. My fellow partners pushed me to accept and grow into my own identity and I started to become more comfortable speaking about and educating myself on the topic of HIV.
However, it was earlier this year that I was faced with it head on when I thought I had been exposed to HIV. It was a scary moment and a feeling I will never forget. With this feeling came a lot of anxiety about testing and finding out my status, but I knew I had to overcome my fear. It was this experience that showed me that there was so much for me to learn and understand and how important it is to share my knowledge with others so the stigma around HIV can be broken.
In my unique experience as a Queer, Filipino man, I find that HIV-related stigma and discrimination are most prevalent in BIPOC communities as many of us are told HIV is 'the gay disease' and experience deep-rooted cultural stigmatism. This not only significantly impacts the health, lives and well-being of people living with or at risk of HIV, especially key populations, but also impedes the HIV response in many ways such as testing, treatment, and prevention services.
Advocating and sharing the word regarding HIV prevention has become very important to me. As a person with a negative status, I have the privilege of educating others around me about HIV and AIDS and helping them be ready to know their own status. I wish I had the opportunity to learn, grow, and make mistakes in a safe environment, but now, I am focused on living my wishes by looking out for how I can support other people. Being a Starbucks partner and having the support of my fellow partners had such a profound impact on me and helped me immensely in my journey, so I hope to continue that legacy with others.
To me, World Aids Day is about uplifting those that are down and giving a voice to those that need to be heard. The stigma surrounding HIV continues and that's getting in the way of people leading healthy lives. This is a day to share how important it is to be informed; ignorance comes at a price, and that price can be people's lives. This is an opportunity for us all to judge less, learn more, and practice empathy."
Bean Stock was created in 1991 as a way for Starbucks employees to share in the company’s success through Starbucks stock. When Bean Stock gave our employees the opportunity to own a piece of the company, we became known as partners. Grants are awarded every fall and has awarded more than $2.4 billion in pre-tax […]
The landmark program, which offers company stock to full-time and part-time employees, was the first of its kind in the retail industry In 1991, on the day Starbucks opened its 100th store, founder Howard Schultz stood before the company’s employees at the roasting plant in Seattle and introduced Bean Stock. It was a retail industry first: […]