Life

Starbucks Will Help Cover Your IVF Treatment, Even If You're Only Part-Time

by Megan Grant

It doesn't take a brain surgeon to understand that working at Starbucks is probably the greatest job in the world. You get to smell coffee all day, you get to make people happy when they need their caffeine fix, and you might finally be able to conceive. That last one sounds weird — let me explain: Starbucks is paying for in vitro fertilization for its female employees, who may otherwise have not had the opportunity, due to the high costs of doing so. Obviously, this is pretty much groundbreaking and totally incredible.

When a woman has a hard time getting pregnant, one option is in vitro fertilization — a process by which her eggs are extracted, manually combined with sperm, and then transferred into her uterus. If it sounds like a long, complicated process, that's because it is; and the price tag reflects it. A fresh cycle of IVF can cost as much as $12,000. Add all of the medication on top of that, and you're looking at a cost of somewhere between $15,000 and $17,000. Understandably, a lot of people (if not most), can't afford that. For a woman who so badly wants to carry her baby and grow her family, what's she to do? Enter Starbucks.

To say they care about their employees would be a gross understatement; because for both full and part time employees, the coffee giant offers up to $20,000 to pay for both the procedure and the required medications. In a time when women are fighting for the most basic health care and often can't even afford the cost of birth control, Sbux is going above and beyond. Not only do they want their employees to be healthy, but they want them to be happy, and have the choice and opportunity to create the future they want.

To employees who are physically unable to conceive and already knew they could never afford IVF, Starbucks has saved the day in the biggest way possible.

And let's not pretend this is the first good deed they've done. They have made a commitment to offering customers high-quality, ethically and sustainably sourced, and responsibly produced products. They are dedicated to minimizing their environmental footprint. Starbucks supports local communities economically and socially, offers full tuition coverage to employees, and hires veterans and military spouses. And truthfully, that doesn't even cover it.

It's more than amazing, delicious, tastebud-tingling, mouthwatering coffee that you see on every street corner — so, so much more.

This is simply the latest credit added to Sbux's inspiring resume. Say what you will about their coffee (although if you say it's bad, you're wrong) — the company behind it has remained dedicated to giving back in the most selfless ways. Now, they're giving renewed hope to women who want to be mommies.

You go, Starbucks.