Today we’d like to introduce you to Jean Manning.
Jean, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My team and I got involved with the autism community over eight with the Monarch School which is a school for children with neurological disorders. We worked with the school on their employability program by volunteering monthly as part of their employability program which consisted of working with the students on interviewing skills, resume building, mock interviews and inviting them into our stores for customer service seminars. We also donated our time working the students on the school grounds, building an organic garden, painting of the fences surrounding the school and painting trees surrounding the school.
We moved our efforts over to support The Hub Houston which was a school that was started in 2016 following many of the teachers from the Monarch School. We along with the teachers readied the school to opened and immediately started working with the students on the same type of employability skills and doing any type of work needed to get the school off to a good start and one where they were confident Starbucks Coffee Co. was there to support their endeavors. With the work of my team, we not only successfully opened the school, we painted, cleaned up the landscaping, painted fences and continued the work with the students on their employability skills.
Through our continued work with the employability program and support from the teachers, we have been able to place 5 students throughout the district working as full-fledged baristas, what others deemed impossible became possible. We also applied for and received monetary grants through Starbucks Coffee Co. and the hours donated by the employees were paid to The Hub Houston as part of our commitment of giving back to the communities in which our stores are located in.
Has it been a smooth road?
We had no struggles along the way, once we understood and got to know the students, they trusted us and it made it easier to work and support them. The students have been a constant reminder of what can happen if you believe and care enough to make a difference. My team and I have volunteered many hours at The Hub Houston because we all believe that we are making the difference in the lives of the students, but we take back so much more than we put in.
Seeing the students excel at work, learn to drive, go to college, all of those things that no one once thought possible-we get a front row seat of seeing them experience all of the things that every young student does and knowing that we have been part of that make it all worth the time and effort.
What would you like us to know about Starbucks?
Starbucks Coffee Co. has a mission statements that encourage its partners (employees) to go out and work in the community where their stores are located. The belief is that by doing such that, it will make our communities stronger. Together, we can use our scale for good-the work never stops and neither will we. We have a program called VolunteerMatch where we partners can submit hours volunteers and Starbucks Coffee Co. will send a check to the organization for those hours worked.
We have also been successful in submitting and granted money for projects worked on at the Hub Houston so we are very fortunate to work for a company where community service is part of guiding principals and encourages the partners to go out and make a difference in the community that they work in.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love the vast diversity of our city! I was born and spent 30 years in a small town in Montana and feel very fortunate to have raised my children in a diverse environment, rich with history, arts and exceptional medical care.
I do not like the humidity! I miss the dry mountain air!
Contact Info:
- Address: Jemannin@starbucks.com
- Phone: 7133928239
- Email: jeanmanning
- Instagram: JeanManning@jemannin_jean
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
