GRANITE CITY - Challenge Unlimited and its affiliate organization, Residential Options, have teamed up with Starbucks to bring “holiday cheer” to their residents.
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On December 4, Starbucks District Manager, James Porter, and his team brought a wealth of gifts to residents living in one of Residential Options’ Community Integrated Living Arrangement (CILA) homes. The residential home was gifted a brand-new Verismo® System, which has the capability to brew coffee, lattes and espresso using single-use Verismo® Pods.
Additionally, each resident and staff member received a gift bag filled with seasonal baked goods, stainless steel drink bottles, and Verismo® Pods in a wide selection of tasting notes and roasts. These gifts were met with an overwhelmingly positive response from the residents and staff. “I love them! I love Starbucks!” responded Tim, a Residential Options resident for over 10 years.
Starbucks has previously supported Challenge Unlimited’s mission by sponsoring an open house event in August 2018, in which the organization introduced its new Staffing Division (located at 11831 Borman Drive in Maryland Heights, MO) that focuses on placing individuals with disability, the disadvantaged and veterans into temporary/part-time positions with St. Louis businesses.
“I am thrilled to have this new relationship with Starbucks,” says Challenge Unlimited President and CEO, Charlotte Hammond. “As a national brand, they’ve been extremely successful in cementing a real community feel throughout the St. Louis region. From their support of veterans and individuals with disabilities to the homeless, they treat everyone with respect and dignity, regardless of their diverse backgrounds or socioeconomic status. I am excited to continue growing our relationship with Starbucks and marrying our mission and values together.”
Starbucks has long valued diversity and inclusion as part of its mission and guiding principles. This includes hiring employees with various backgrounds and working with them to find success in their careers. The company provides sign language interpreting services, real time captioning, adaptive equipment, and accessible software such as voice-to-text for its employees.
They proudly welcome service animals into their stores and have developed tools to elevate and enhance service to Deaf customers, including new sign language aprons. Additionally, Starbucks provides Braille and large print menus, and is the only company to offer Braille gift cards in the stores all year round. Additional information about Starbucks’ disability inclusion initiatives can be found at: https://news.starbucks.com/views/Starbucks-Commitment-to-Access-and-Disability-Inclusion.
About Challenge Unlimited
As a social entrepreneur, Challenge Unlimited has grown its business services from a single custodial contract to over 50 service and production contracts. We deliver quality solutions in facility management, production services and staffing services. An authorized partner of the AbilityOne Program, Challenge Unlimited manages operations across five states: Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin and South Carolina. Today, Challenge Unlimited employs over 900 workers; of which approximately 600 are individuals with disabilities. Visit www.cuinc.org to learn more about our award-winning services.
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