Starbucks Foundation rolls out Service Fellows Program across 20 US cities

The Starbucks Foundation and volunteer service organisation Points of Light have announced the expansion of The Starbucks Foundation Service Fellows Program. The service model is designed to provide day-to-day support to local non-profit organisations and an opportunity to Starbucks employees to get involved in their communities. The Starbucks Foundation Service Fellows program takes corporate volunteer programs beyond one-time volunteer events or donation matching by enabling Points of Light to provide local organisations with a Service Fellow working part-time to support a non-profit, getting paid by the non-profit, while also working part-time at Starbucks. “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 non-profit organisations 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.” Following a successful six-month pilot last year, this full-scale program will launch in 20 cities with 100 Starbucks partners selected as fellows. The fellows will be split into two seven-month terms, with the first group of 50 fellows beginning in September 2019 and ending in March 2020, and the second group starting in April 2020. “The ultimate goal, from the Starbucks lens, is that these partners are truly catalytic in their communities and that they inspire more partners to get engaged,” says Virginia Tenpenny, Executive Director of The Starbucks Foundation. “This is a whole new way of tapping into the goodwill of employees who want to do something more, and we think it will inform their commitments around service for a lifetime.  It also creates incredible opportunities and growth for our partners, creates capacity for non-profits that otherwise wouldn’t have dollars for labour and strengthens their communities at the same time.” The Starbucks Foundation Service Fellows program is made possible by a US$3.5 million grant from The Starbucks Foundation to Points of Light, including direct support to Points of Light to help fund their affiliates expansion of resources, programs and efforts. Points of Light orchestrates the program, including paying for the Service Fellow’s time. Global Coffee Report has launched a LinkedIn Showcase page. Follow HERE for up-to-date news and analysis of the global coffee industry.