THE CITIZEN BLOG
THE CITIZEN BLOG
Starbucks Foundation Service Fellows: A Mission Put Into Action
There is no doubt that hunger and poverty plague all parts of the world, but here at Hands On Atlanta, we make it our mission to mobilize the Atlanta community to tackle our city’s most pressing needs - providing opportunities to help serve the thousands of families who are in need of food and other essential resources. Each year, an estimate of 755,400 (1 in 7) people in Georgia turn to Food Bank partner agencies for food. 1 in 5 kids in Georgia live in food-insecure households. While we can’t solve all of the hunger problems facing our community, thanks to an impactful partnership with the Starbucks Foundation, Points of Light, and the Atlanta Community Food Bank, we’re now able to get more food to those in need.
There is no doubt that hunger and poverty plague all parts of the world, but here at Hands On Atlanta, we make it our mission to mobilize the Atlanta community to tackle our city’s most pressing needs - providing opportunities to help serve the thousands of families who are in need of food and other essential resources. Each year, an estimate of 755,400 (1 in 7) people in Georgia turn to Food Bank partner agencies for food. 1 in 5 kids in Georgia live in food-insecure households. While we can’t solve all of the hunger problems facing our community, thanks to an impactful partnership with the Starbucks Foundation, Points of Light, and the Atlanta Community Food Bank, we’re now able to get more food to those in need.
Towards the end of May 2019, The Starbucks Foundation and Points of Light announced the expansion of the Starbucks Foundation Service Fellow Program, following a successful six-month pilot in 2018. As a result of the good news, we were able to welcome two new members to the Hands On Atlanta team, Shelly Banks and Steen Stuckey in September of 2019!
““I’ve always been interested in community service, and Starbucks continues to create new opportunities to stay within the company and get involved in new ways like this program, and I felt like it was a perfect fit!” ”
Here’s how the program works.
The goal of the Starbucks Foundation Service Fellow Program will do 2 things:
Enable local food pantries to provide more food to those in need.
Provide the Starbucks Foundation Service Fellows a unique opportunity to address a pressing community need.
The Starbucks Foundation Service Fellows work 20 hours in their store, while spending another 20 hours with Hands On Atlanta, helping build volunteer capacity at Atlanta Community Food Bank affiliate food pantries.
Shelly and Steen will provide training and consultation on volunteer management to 8 food pantries around metro Atlanta. Stretching from Lithonia to Newnan, more people will have access to more food, thanks to the help of their work! By helping the food pantries better engage volunteers in serving more food to their clients, our amazing fellows (Steen and Shelly) are tackling one of Starbucks’ global social impact priorities: hunger.
“The ultimate goal, from the Starbucks lens, is that these partners [Starbucks employees] are truly catalytic in their communities and that they inspire more partners to get engaged” ”
Thanks to the program that the Starbucks Foundation and Points of Light have delivered, we can now strengthen our storied partnership with the Atlanta Community Food Bank by providing customized 1:1 support to their food pantries.
Meet the 2020 Hands On Atlanta Starbucks Fellows
Shelly Banks
“And now I’m doing this service fellowship, so it’s truly a great experience to work for a company that lets me explore so many different possibilities.””
Shelly has been a partner at Starbucks since 2013, and enjoys working for the company because they provide so many different opportunities that she’s been able to be apart of. She went to college through the Starbucks College Achievement Plan program and obtained her degree. Shelly also completed the Coffee Master program, which provided her with a higher level of coffee knowledge and a cool black apron!
Steen Stuckey
“I think one of the best things about working at Starbucks is how much we focus on helping people develop professionally. And I think this is a very, very cool opportunity for that. I hope that more people get to take advantage of it.””
Arkansas native, Steen, moved to Atlanta about 2 ½ years ago with her wife of three years. Since the big move, she has been apart of the Starbucks family. After hearing about the Starbucks Service Fellows Program, she was excited to be apart of the fellowship since it aligned with her idea of a fulfilling life: giving back to the community. In the future, Steen hopes that the program continues to expand so that more opportunities are created for those interested in becoming a service fellow.
Learn more about this unique partnership happening in 20 cities across the country!
Points of Light and The Starbucks Foundation Expand Innovative Service Model in 20 Cities Across the United States
Points of Light, the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service, and The Starbucks Foundation announce the expansion of The Starbucks Foundation Service Fellows Program, an innovative service model inspired by national service.
Points of Light, the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service, and The Starbucks Foundation announce the expansion of The Starbucks Foundation Service Fellows Program, an innovative service model inspired by national service.
Following a successful six-month pilot last year, the full-scale program will expand to 7 new markets, reaching 20 cities and engaging 100 Starbucks partners (employees). The program is designed to provide needed day-to-day support to local nonprofit organizations while providing an opportunity for Starbucks partners to pursue their personal passion to get involved in their communities.
“The Starbucks Foundation Service Fellows program is a promising model that provides companies with a new way to think about the role they can play in promoting and enabling service opportunities,” says Natalye Paquin, president and CEO of Points of Light. “We believe that by partnering together, the Service Fellows will significantly enhance the capacity of nonprofit organizations to effectively leverage human capital to meet their missions. We are excited to see this program grow and look forward to supporting fellows as they unlock their own potential to create meaningful change through service.”
Points of Light received a $3.5 million grant from The Starbucks Foundation to expand the infrastructure and impact of The Starbucks Foundation Service Fellows program by 2020, which includes direct support of Points of Light’s commitment to strengthen the capacity of the nonprofit sector through resources, programs and partnerships.
The Starbucks Foundation will fund support for local nonprofits affiliated with the Points of Light Global Network. As part of this service model, Points of Light will match the 100 fellows with their local network member. During their service term, the fellows will work part-time for Points of Light, expanding the capacity of the local nonprofit and their community partners to meet their missions, while continuing to work part-time at Starbucks. This experience plays an important role in exposing the Fellows to future civic and community engagement opportunities, while expanding their professional skills and experiences.
“Each Starbucks store is part of a community, and we’re committed to strengthening the neighborhoods we serve,” says Virginia Tenpenny, executive director of The Starbucks Foundation. “We believe service goes hand in hand with our mission to inspire and nurture the human spirit, one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time. This program is an evolution of Starbucks long-standing commitment to serving our communities, year-round.”
Following an application process that kicked off this week, the first group of 50 Starbucks partners across 20 cities will be selected as Service Fellows, to begin in September with sector education and organizational onboarding, and their service terms will run from October 2019 through March 2020. The second group of Service Fellows will serve April through October 2020.
Members of the Points of Light Global Network that will host Service Fellows are: Hands On Atlanta, HandsOn Bay Area, HandsOn Birmingham, Boston Cares, HandsOn Broward, Chicago Cares, VolunteerNow, Spark the Change Colorado, Volunteer Fairfax, Volunteer Houston, HandsOn Miami, Hands On Nashville, New York Cares, HandsOn New Orleans, United Way of Greater Philadelphia & Southern New Jersey, HandsOn Twin Cities, HandsOn Greater Phoenix, HandsOn San Diego, Seattle Works, United Way of King County, and United Way of Greater St. Louis, as well as Points of Light headquarters in Atlanta.
To learn more about the impact of The Starbucks Foundation Service Fellows program, visit the Points of Light blog or Starbucks Stories for impact stories.
About Points of Light
Points of Light – the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service – mobilizes millions of people to take action that is changing the world. Through affiliates in 250 cities across 37 countries and in partnership with thousands of nonprofits and corporations, Points of Light engages 5 million volunteers in 20 million hours of service each year. We bring the power of people to bear where it’s needed most. For more information, go to www.pointsoflight.org.
About The Starbucks Foundation
Established in 1997, The Starbucks Foundation strengthens communities around the world by advancing opportunities for youth, veterans, refugees and coffee, tea and cocoa farmers and their families, supporting communities affected by disaster, and promoting civic engagement. The Starbucks Foundation is a U.S. 501 (c)(3) charitable organization under U.S. law, and receives funding primarily from Starbucks Corporation and private donations. Learn more at https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/community/starbucks-foundation.
Raising the Bar | These Baristas Serve More than Coffee
Over the course of the Starbucks Service Fellows’ six-month term with us, Julie and Maya, managed 10 food pantries that were selected by the Food Bank. Specifically, the Starbucks Service Fellows providing one-on-one support to the food pantries including training on volunteer management best practices and our volunteer management software; helping them write volunteer role descriptions, and volunteering at their facilities.
A little over a year ago the Atlanta Community Food Bank approached Hands On Atlanta, asking if we could help increase capacity at some of their affiliate food pantries by recruiting volunteers on their behalf. Specifically, the Food Bank wanted to provide more food to more people and hypothesized that if we were able to send more volunteers to their affiliates then their objective of feeding more people would be achieved.
We were eager to dive in and help, but with a lean team ourselves, we wondered how we could make this happen. Wouldn’t you know it, around the same time, Points of Light presented us with an incredible opportunity from Starbucks. We would apply to host a couple of their partners (Starbucks employees) who would help address one of the company’s social pillars: food insecurity. So, problem-solved! We jumped at the opportunity and applied for and got two outstanding Starbucks Service Fellows, Julie and Maya, to help us implement our partnership with the Food Bank.
Over the course of the Starbucks Service Fellows’ six-month term with us, Julie and Maya, managed 10 food pantries that were selected by the Food Bank. Specifically, the Starbucks Service Fellows providing one-on-one support to the food pantries including training on volunteer management best practices and our volunteer management software; helping them write volunteer role descriptions, and volunteering at their facilities. This was no easy task. The food pantries were very lean, grassroots organizations and many were being run by volunteers. For example, none of them had a formal system for tracking their volunteers; volunteers signed up using pen and paper. So Julie and Maya spent a significant amount of time teaching them how to use our volunteer software increasing the efficiencies and workflow at the food pantries.
“We’ve been able to double the number of volunteers thanks to Hands On Atlanta.”
Change can be hard which meant that the food pantries needed encouragement and support. One of the most value skills the Starbucks Service Fellows brought to their role was their impeccable customer service. Julie and Maya were patient and always treated the food pantries with respect. As a result, they gained the food pantries trust. Not only did the Starbucks Service Fellows get the pantries to use our volunteer management software, but in just three months of posting their opportunities the food pantries recruited 143 volunteers who served a total 544 hours! Margie Boone, CEO of the food pantry, Margie’s House, stated, "We've been able to double the number of volunteers thanks to Hands On Atlanta."
With the support from Starbucks in their partners’ growth and civic engagement, as well as building capacity for nonprofits like ours, we were able to build upon the strong foundation with the Food Bank, one of our long time partners. We also were able to expand our service foot print into high-needs areas like Gwinnet and Clayton Counties, deepening the impact we’re able to have in the metro region.
Thank you to Starbucks and their incredible partners, Julie and Maya. Their fellowship ended in mid-February, however, they will always be a part of the Hands On Atlanta family. In fact, Julie has stayed on board volunteering with us two days a week to continue providing support to the food pantries - through June when the food pantries are eligible to renew their partnership with us. We’re definitely looking forward to the next phase of the Starbucks Service Fellowship program, hoping to grow from a grande to a venti!
Want to volunteer at one the food pantries?
Starbucks Service Fellows Rise and Grind at Hands On Atlanta
Starbucks and Points of Light team up to pilot an innovative, employer-led nonprofit capacity-building program, providing select Starbucks retail partners (employees) the opportunity to serve with a local nonprofit in their communities
Starbucks and Points of Light team up to pilot an innovative, employer-led nonprofit capacity-building program, providing select Starbucks retail partners (employees) the opportunity to serve with a local nonprofit in their communities
We recently added 2 new friendly faces to the office, thanks to a partnership from Points of Light and Starbucks. The Starbucks Service Fellows is an innovative, employer-led service program inspired and informed by national service. In total, 36 Starbucks retail partners (employees) in 13 cities across the United States will serve with a Points of Light affiliate, collectively providing more than 17,000 hours of community service. Hands On Atlanta was selected as one of the affiliates to help with the initial six-month pilot!
“We believe this bold program, designed in partnership with Starbucks, will redefine corporate engagement and the private sector’s ability to support civic engagement,” said Natalye Paquin, president and CEO of Points of Light.
Listen to our conversation with Maya, Julie and Elaine on this week's episode of The Weekly High 5 to learn more about this program and to catch a few coffee secrets from the baristas!
For this pilot, we're aligning with one of Starbucks’ global social impact priorities: hunger. The Starbucks Service Fellows will be working about 20 hours per week for the next six months helping build volunteer capacity at 10 food pantries as part of our partnership with the Atlanta Community Food Bank. In addition, they'll also be helping with our Meals4Kids program.
"The Starbucks Service Fellows are not just doing direct service, but they are building something Hands On Atlanta is going to use for years to come," said Elaine Hudson, Associate Director of Nonprofit Services.
The program is a win-win all around. Starbucks worked with Points of Light to match partner volunteers with local affiliates, giving participating organizations the talent and support they need to maximize their impact locally, while enabling partners to serve their communities and gain experience and skills in the nonprofit sector, such as project management, volunteer recruitment, community engagement and stakeholder relationship management.
“Starbucks partners have a passion for service both in and out of their stores. The Starbucks Service Fellows program powers that passion through philanthropy and partnerships to have the greatest impact” said Virginia Tenpenny, vice president of global social impact at Starbucks and executive director of The Starbucks Foundation.
Left to right: Maya Tannenbaum, Elaine Hudson, Julie Terlemezian
Meet the Hands On Atlanta Starbucks Fellows
Maya Tannenbaum (left)
Maya is a junior at Georgia State University pursuing a degree in Social Work. Georgia has been her home for her entire life, but she hopes to eventually travel and live in another major city to help other communities in need. Maya has always had a fascination with society and its inner workings, and can't wait to experience all of the adventures the next six months will bring. She's excited to be working with such a talented team at Hands On Atlanta!
Julie Terlemezian (right)
Julie Terlemezian has been dedicated to helping others and making the world a better place since her teens, when she spent five years in a leadership role for her youth group in Marietta, Georgia, and later in the Southeast Region. When she attended The Evergreen State University in Olympia, WA, she helped inform and educate the student population as the managing editor for the student newspaper, The Cooper Point Journal. Currently, Julie works as a Shift Supervisor for Starbucks in Sandy Springs. Julie is thrilled to have the opportunity to serve the community as the Starbucks Service Fellow in the Points of Light pilot program with Hands On Atlanta. She resides in Smyrna with her beloved cat Luna.