Starbucks Philippines Invites Everyone to be a Community Champion This Global Month of Good

 

As part of its annual Global Month of Good celebration, Starbucks Philippines is reinforcing its commitment to the communities it serves – while inviting more Filipinos to take part in their own way.

This year, Starbucks highlights a simple but powerful idea: anyone can be a Community Champion through small, everyday actions that create meaningful change for the environment, the community, and other people.

“Our local initiatives are grounded in the belief that meaningful change starts with strong community connections,” said Jamie Silva, senior manager for Marketing, Digital Customer Experience and Social Impact, Starbucks Philippines. “From education to disaster response initiatives and partner volunteerism, 2025 reflects how collective action can create lasting impact.”

In 2026, Starbucks Philippines is expanding its community impact initiatives through strengthened partnerships, improved access to essentials, and more opportunities for both partners (employees) and customers to take part in meaningful action.

Supporting Communities Where They Need the Most

Through its partnership with Planet Water Foundation and The Starbucks Foundation, Starbucks Philippines provides clean water access and hygiene education to an estimated 42,400 people in various regions around the country. This April, a ninth AquaTower will be installed in Camarines Sur, extending access to safe drinking to around 7,000 more individuals.

Starbucks Philippines also continues its longstanding partnership with HOPE to support education. Each year, Starbucks partners (employees) come together to help build safe and inspiring learning spaces for underserved communities. This year marks the completion of a sixth public school classroom in Sarangani in April, helping provide safe and conducive learning spaces for students in the community.

Alongside its community initiatives, Starbucks Philippines is also strengthening its sustainability efforts within its store operations. Starbucks Philippines has partnered with MPower to supply electricity to around 60 Metro Manila stores under the Retail Aggregation Program. This partnership is expected to result in improved operational efficiency while supporting long-term sustainability goals.

Continuing Efforts Powered by Volunteerism

Starbucks’ commitment to being a Community Champion is also reflected through volunteerism and everyday participation.

Starbucks Community Stores in Abad Santos, Tondo, and Maysilo Circle continue to support education programs in partnership with AHA! Learning Center, Young Focus Foundation, and Mano Amiga Philippines. To date, more than 1,500 learners have benefited from after-school sessions, literacy development activities, and leadership-building programs that help them gain confidence and stay engaged in school.

Addressing food insecurity remains a key focus. Through its FoodShare program, Starbucks has redirected nearly 3 million rescuable food items from close to 300 stores nationwide. In partnership with The Philippine Food Bank Foundation and Grab Philippines, surplus food is distributed to various communities.

Beyond these organized programs, Starbucks encourages customers to take part in simple, everyday actions throughout Global Month of Good. In their own small way, store visits can become part of the impact. Customers can use for-here ware or bring their own tumblers for their coffee orders and enjoy a PHP 10 discount.

Simple actions, when done together, can create a meaningful impact over time. This Global Month of Good, everyone is invited to be a Community Champion. To learn more about the Global Month of Good, visit starbucks.ph/social-impact.

Bulacan Agricultural Farm Tour with Outreach at Basuit Elementary School

Basuit Elementary School in San Yldefonso, Bulacan

Working with kids is a very rewarding experience; however it is not without its challenges. I have had the privilege to work with kids before when I was invited by the Department of Education-Quezon City chapter to teach features writing to public elementary school children. I loved the experience of being a teacher for a day. So when opportunity knocks where I can be with children, I could never say no to that. Recently, I found myself in Bulacan where part of the Agri-farm tour was an outreach for public school children in Basuit Elementary School in San Yldefonso.

Purple Plum Fairy with her features writing students from different QC public schools back in 2011.
 

Prior to the Agri-farm tour and outreach day, I was informed by one of the organizers that we needed to gather school supplies because someone has pledged to give out school bags for public school children. Of course, the kids would be needing school supplies apart from the bags itself, right? So I randomly asked friends and posted on my social media networks if there's anyone who's willing to help us, even if on a short notice. Thank God for the outpouring miracles--things seemed to fall on their right places. A former client of mine immediately messaged me and asked how many school items do I need. It took a while before she was able to deliver it to our house because of the heavy rains. But she had to shop by herself just so she would be able to donate all the school supplies I had asked from her. As if her pledge wasn't enough, she also gave out boxes of chocolate bars and lollipop candies to give out the kids. 

Yes, my former client had donated all of these items!

By God's grace, another good Samaritan had messaged me, my former fellow writer at Psst.ph had also pledged boxes of crayons, pencils and papers. Woot! My good friend and fellow blogger, Dems Angeles had also made efforts to pool donations from her own network of friends. And alas, by the end of the week, we were able to pool out everything that we need and so much more. Other people also made their own donations, Ms. Jenny Sy also brought some 30 plastic envelope school supplies for the kids. Princess Amirah Shine R. Magdangal gave away 100 school bags while Ms. Cherry Castro and her family gave some umbrellas too so that kids had something to use during rainy season. Truly, God knew what we were doing were something for His glory. He made use of different people to become instrumental in making this community outreach possible. 

This is what I was able to pool out from donor friends.

A school supply drive is an easy way to have a profound impact on students and their learning experience. Make school a better place for both students and teachers by the simple act of providing school supplies. Many families are struggling. With high unemployment, and more than 30 million students enrolled in the free and reduced meal programs, many parents are unable to provide the basic school supplies their children need to be effective. In addition, schools across the country are facing severe budget cuts and lack the funding to purchase necessary supplies. We can help children in school by giving them the tools they need to succeed. 

Here are many great reasons to do this project, including:

• Feel great about ensuring that children start the school year with the tools they need to succeed.
• Help teachers by providing them with proper tools for their classrooms so they don’t have to spend money from their own pockets.
• By providing school supplies, you are supporting students, teachers and your local schools.

Electrolux converts worn out clothes into quilts with Gawad Kalinga'sTrese Community Program

Filipinos' traditional bayanihan concept is still very much alive even up to this day. We see these exemplary Filipino value each year during times when our country is faced with numerous natural calamities such as the recent earthquake and typhoons which result to ruined homes and ravaged livelihood. But we have relentlessly proven through time and again that it is during these crucial times that we are there for one another--we try to help rehabilitate the lives of the victims. 

And in this light, Electrolux, the trusted brand and world leader in home appliances has been collecting and laundering clothes for calamity-stricken survivors for several years now. This year, Electrolux, through its Delightful-E Simple campaign, innovated this long-running advocacy.

In partnership with Gawad Kalinga’s Trese community, Electrolux will upcycle unusable clothes into quilts for children and new born babies in orphanages and other communities.