Starbucks plans to operate 100 stores by 2025 in underrepresented neighborhoods across the country as part of the expanded Community Store program, working with nonprofits and civic leaders to bolster economic growth. A national partnership with United Way will help enable hundreds of Starbucks partners (employees) to drive meaningful community engagement in and outside of store.
The impact of the Warren Street Starbucks in Trenton, NJ continues to resonate with the community as users grab coffee, conduct meetings and engage in community events. With colorful walls filled with community art and activities that appeal to urban residents, the space has become part of the fabric of New Jersey’s Capital City.
Soon after Starbucks opened at 102 South Warren Street (corner of Front Street) a couple of years ago, Stephanie Campfield, Store Manager, obtained the company’s designation as a Community Service Store to help engage the local community. “It’s worth a trip here just to see the excitement,” said Campfield.
Starbucks partners are multiplying their community impact this month across the nation with the distribution of 1,000 Neighborhood Grants to local NGOs and support in hundreds of service projects for Martin Luther King Jr. Week of Service. As part of its partnership with United Way, Starbucks Community Store partners (employees) are working with their local United Way chapter to provide relevant resources and programs for their neighborhood using the store’s community space.
“We believe it is our role and responsibility to partner with those in the communities we serve to help make a positive economic and social impact,” said John Kelly, executive vice president of Public Affairs at Starbucks. “These stores are successful and it’s time to expand the model. Over the last five years, we’ve seen these Community Stores empower our partners and customers to create meaningful impact that is localized and relevant to their neighborhoods. We’ve learned a great deal from our 14 Community Stores and applied those learnings to how we approach community partnership in more than 8,000 neighborhoods we serve across the country.”
Since launching the Community Store initiative in 2015, Starbucks has opened 14 stores across the country in Jamaica Queens, NY; Ferguson, MO; Phoenix, AZ; Englewood in the southside of Chicago; east Baltimore; Long Beach, CA; Trenton, NJ; White Center in south Seattle; Miami Gardens, FL; Birmingham, AL; Redbird in Dallas, TX; Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn, NY; New Orleans, LA; and Jonesboro, GA. The 15th store will open in Prince George’s County, MD this spring.
Starbucks estimates its Community Stores have helped:
- Create more than 300 local jobs and connect young people to education and employment opportunities.
- Generate more than $59.7 million in indirect economic development created from store construction and over 1,100 indirect jobs.
- Identify and eliminate barriers to entry that prevent diverse-owned contractors from competing successfully to build stores for the company.
- Provide 14 community spaces decorated with local artwork that reflects the personality and heart of each community.
As part of Starbucks national partnership with United Way, local United Ways and 211s in targeted communities will work with Community Store partners to create resources and programs for each community from life skills training for youth to mentorship programs and beyond. That includes facilitating activities at the stores that support people in the community, providing Starbucks partners with customized community profiles and resource information and connecting partners with volunteer activities that help create real change in the communities in which they live and work.
“United Way and Starbucks share a commitment to ensuring every person has the opportunity to thrive, and we’re honored to partner with them,” said Suzanne McCormick, U.S. President of United Way Worldwide. “United Way has been connecting people to resources across the U.S. for more than 130 years, and we look forward to deploying United Way’s local expertise and experience to help Starbucks Community Stores make a real difference.”
