Starbucks Appreciation Day: Sunday, April 7th, 2013

Hello again readers. In case you haven't heard yet, I am advocating that everyone visit Starbucks on Sunday, April 7th, 2013 for Starbucks Appreciation Day. I'm not saying don't go anytime before or after that (in fact, go as much as you like), but make sure to visit this establishment on the 7th. Why? Well, Starbucks is one of the most vocal companies that approves and encourages the equal rights of people. No, their not the only business that supports equal rights, but they are one of the biggest and one of the easiest to visit. By visiting anytime on Sunday, April 7th, 2013, you are showing your support for a progressive business, and, more importantly, for equal rights of human beings. This needs to become viral, so make sure to share every and all ways that you can. To help, when using social media, use the hash tags #StarbucksAppreciation and #ShareTheLove.

I bet this sounds familiar to most of you. That's because this isn't a new technique to send a message. Back in August 1st, 2012, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee urged people to eat at Chic Fil A to show their support of the "Bibical Definition" of marriage, meaning that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman (You can read my blog post from that day here). The was a ton of media coverage and a lot of talk about this, and when the actual day came, every Chic Fil A restauarant was swamped. Since then, Chick Fil A has sent mix messages about their feelings towards gay couples, have not been contributing to organtiaztions that discriminate against the LGBT community, and really haven't pressed the issue. Regardless, It was sad to see such a negative and close minded perspective have such a response. So, this time, we want to encourage and acknowledge a business that wants to change the world for the better, all while gaining some positive attention and, hopefully, adding some actual statistic to a the steam of a hot political subject.

As I mentioned, there are a number of important and big businesses that are supporting equal rights. George Takei recently shared the picture you see to the left. Obviously this is becoming more and more acceptable, as evident by Colorado's recent signing of Civil Unions into law. I have no idea what the latest polls show in support of equal rights (which will always baffle me that we need polls), but I wouldn't trust any of those numbers. Hence, a planned visit to a national business is going to add "fuel to the fire" to encourage businesses of equal rights.

Another way you can continue to show your support of equal rights is to support the Human Rights Campaign, or HRC. That equal sign you're seeing more and more of, especially last week? Yeah, that's there logo. And seeing it become more popular and seen more in different ways is heartwarming... Anyway, check out their website for ways you can contribute and continue to show and grow support.

So for those reasons, and more, Make sure to stop by Starbucks on Sunday, April 7th. Not a fan of coffee? That's okay, they have lots of other beverages, including teas, smoothies, and cider. They also have food to check out (I hear their cookies are really good). Can't get to a Starbucks on Sunday? That's okay too. Check out their website for products there as well. And if you don't want anything from them (which I find hard to believe), get someone a gift card, as those are VERY popular gifts. The way I see it, there are no excuses to not go. With that all said, I hope you'll join us at your local neighborhood Starbucks for #StarbucksAppreciation Day on Sunday, April 7th, 2013, to show your support and #SpreadTheLove.