Working with the community leadership of
Ferguson, Starbucks launches a long-term effort to create local
jobs, provide training opportunities for youth, and invest in local
minority-owned businesses
New store marks a key milestone in Starbucks
ongoing commitment to open stores in at least 15 diverse, low- to
medium-income communities by 2018
Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) today unveiled its first store in
Ferguson, Missouri, as part of a national plan to provide local
jobs, create training opportunities for youth, and support efforts
to rebuild and revitalize communities. Starbucks plans to open
similar stores in at least 15 low- to medium-income communities
across the U.S. by 2018. With an estimated 5.5 million young
Americans not in school or at work, the majority of whom live in
some of the country’s most diverse, yet underserved communities,
Starbucks aims to make a long-term impact by opening stores that
will help provide a tangible boost to the local economy and bring
meaningful jobs.
“We’ve long considered how we can help deliver social impact in
ways that drive our business forward,” said Rodney Hines,
Starbucks director of Community Investments for U.S. Retail
Operations. “We have always seen investments in the communities
where Starbucks partners live and serve as investments in our
business and brand. As we got to know the Ferguson community over
the last year, we heard incredible stories of strength, empathy and
understanding. We also heard loud and clear the need for business
leadership and investment in the form of new jobs and training
opportunities, particularly for young people. That’s why we are
proud to be here with the community as we prepare to open our
doors. Together, we want to help demonstrate that coming to a city
like Ferguson is not just good for the community, but good for
business too.”
Nationally, 1 in 7 young adults does not work or attend school1,
a challenge that is compounded in low- to medium-income communities
like Ferguson, particularly among young people of color. In the St.
Louis region, 14% of young people ages 16-24 – an estimated 48,000
young men and women – are disconnected from jobs and educational
opportunities2 and nearly half of all young African American men in
the area are unemployed, compared with 16% for young Caucasian men.
In addition to creating new local jobs, Starbucks will work with
nonprofit partners like the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis
to provide a robust, multi-week job skills training program for
local youth, using a specially-designed classroom space within the
store. Starbucks hopes to work alongside community partners like
the Urban League to help address some of the systemic barriers
facing young people in the Ferguson area.
“Ferguson was an awakening for all of us to really take a hard
look in the mirror, and try to turn what was a tragedy into a
triumph,” said Michael McMillan, President and CEO of the Urban
League of Metropolitan St. Louis, one of Starbucks key
community partners in the initiative. “We saw people from all over
the country wanting to be involved in our community, and to give
back and help. Yet, the number one thing we heard from young people
in Ferguson is ‘we need jobs.’ So we need to engage these youth and
we need to figure out how we can help them to get what they need to
be productive citizens. The work will take years to complete. This
is both a sprint and a marathon for our community, and we urgently
need other businesses like Starbucks to join us.”
"Ferguson is grateful to Starbucks for recognizing the strength
and resilience of our community by choosing to invest here,” said
Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III. “The City of Ferguson and
the greater North County region have both obstacles to overcome,
but also great potential. Starbucks has shown their commitment to
this region by helping our young people with much needed job
training, as well as their commitment to the greater business
community by partnering with local entrepreneurs to deliver great
services and products to our citizens. We are excited to welcome
Starbucks into the community and look forward to a long and lasting
community partnership.”
New Jobs, New Opportunities
The Starbucks store, featuring both a café and drive-thru at
West Florissant & Somerset in Ferguson, has hired 30 partners
(employees), many of whom are from the Ferguson or greater St.
Louis areas, including store manager Cordell Lewis. Hiring
locally is an important part of the company’s strategy to support
economic development and build stronger connections with the
community. With benefits like full health care coverage and equity
in the form of stock for both part-time and full-time partners, as
well as the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, which gives
partners the opportunity to get a bachelor’s degree from Arizona
State University with full tuition reimbursement, Starbucks will
provide Ferguson partners with the same opportunities available to
partners across the country.
“I was in essence the ‘opportunity youth’ we are trying to
help,” said Lewis, who has already enrolled in online
classes at Arizona State University through the Starbucks College
Achievement Plan. “I come from a single-parent family and was lucky
to have a coach who saw a spark in me when I was a high school
athlete. That helped me turn my life around. Starbucks opening in
this community means the company also sees what Ferguson can
become. It has its challenges, and we have to have those
conversations, but we also have so many young men and women with a
lot to offer, including our new team of partners. My goal is to be
their coach, to listen, and to help drive their passions. That’s
the type of leader I want to be – for my team and for our
community.”
As part of its commitment to investing in the community,
Starbucks is also working with Natalie DuBose, owner of Ferguson
bakery Natalie’s Cakes & More, which suffered
extensive damage following the rioting in 2014. In considering ways
to invest in the local community, Starbucks is now selling DuBose’s
signature caramel cakes at more than 30 St. Louis-area locations
and will feature the product in the new store in Ferguson. As a
result, DuBose’s workforce has grown from three to more than 20,
double what it was when Starbucks broke ground on the Ferguson
location in November 2015. DuBose is also heavily involved in the
community, speaking regularly about entrepreneurship at local high
schools, hiring locally, and sourcing ingredients locally
whenever possible. Starbucks also worked with Simms
Building Group, a minority-owned general contracting and
construction management firm in the St. Louis area, to build the
site.
A Pathway to Jobs for Local Youth
The Ferguson store will work with the Urban League of
Metropolitan St. Louis to provide a unique in-store training
program where young people in the community will have the
opportunity to enroll in a multi-week retail and customer service
skills training program. The program meets a critical need for
practical job training opportunities for young people, many of whom
are eager to start their first job and work collectively to
transform the legacy of the Ferguson community.
Starbucks is set to offer a similar training program for youth
at its new store in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, NY, working
with local nonprofit organizations like Queens Community House and
the YMCA and Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow’s Y Roads program.
Starbucks will seek to build similar alliances in each of the 13
additional communities it is considering in the national
initiative, including stores in the Englewood neighborhood of
Chicago’s South Side and a remodeled store at 7th & Camelback
in Phoenix.
“Ferguson’s young people still remain hopeful and resilient,”
said McMillan. “An in-store training opportunity with Starbucks
will go a long way for a young person preparing for their first
job. And that first job is going to set them up for success and
help open up a world of opportunity. That’s why we wanted to work
with Starbucks and together find a way to use this new space to be
so much more than a coffee shop, but a hub for the kind of
opportunities that might help a young person get their start.”
About Starbucks
Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to
ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Today,
with more than 23,000 stores around the globe, Starbucks is the
premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world.
Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding
principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for
every customer through every cup. To share in the experience,
please visit our stores or online at news.starbucks.com and
Starbucks.com.
1 Measure of America, One in Seven: Ranking Youth Disconnection
in the 25 Largest Metro Areas
2 Measure of America, Zeroing In on Place and Race: Youth
Disconnection in America’s Cities
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