Starbucks: Creating Jobs, Seeding Lives

Friends,

My heart is so full of joy right now.

There are moments when I am proud to be an American.  Where wearing the “country” label feels good upon my skin.

Today, I experienced one of these moments.

My morning started as it often does with a walk to my local Starbucks.  Walking allows me to get grounded to the earth, move my body some and receiving a natural source of Vitamin D.  This morning as I stood in line to purchase my venti green tea iced, no sweetener.  I was met with a smile from my barista behind the register and a patriotic-looking display to the right front of it.  The display read “This country needs jobs” with an invitation for the consumer, me, to get involved with a solution.  For a $5 donation, six other investment groups (foundations, banks, corporations, faith-based organizations, government, socially responsible investors) match my gift to parlay it into a $35 donation.  This donation is then loaned to create community businesses in America by Americans.  Wow.  Starbucks is taking the micro lending concept which has been successful throughout the world into our own country.  Nice job.  Great vision.

I stood in front of the register feeling my heart break wide open.  I immediately made my donation and donned a red, white, and blue bracelet with a charm which reads “indivisible”, which means “unable to be divided.”  I sat down to read my morning reflection material and journal.  I was into penning my second sentence when I heard myself say to me “why not play bigger?”  I got up and purchased another.  I thought about how cool it would be for my buddies to wear these bracelets and so I bought some more.  By the time I’d left the store I had purchased six bracelets and committed to purchasing at least one daily for the next week.  My small donation will be parlayed into something beautiful and I felt like I made a difference.

The story doesn’t end here.  I want accountability.  I will be tracking through the website www.createjobsforUSA.org how the money is used.  It is my intention to watch the lives of my fellow citizens blossom from the sown seeds, knowing all the while, I had a small something to do with it.

Sitting in a seat of joy,

Bonnie