It all started with what we should always start with … people.
The Green Apron Alliance has never been about solving a marketing opportunity, making an investor happy or giving an executive a retirement hobby. The Green Apron Alliance is made up of people, who care about other people, and who want to do well for and by other people.
That’s why we have over 8000+ hours of volunteer time committed by some of the busiest, most time-crunched people on the planet who would likely make gobs of money selling that time, but they chose to commit it here.
That’s why our beloved Howard Behar reached out to us all those years ago to make sure we knew how much he was cheering us on. Because as part of the H2O team, he always represented the heart and soul of our company, the people. “We’re in the people business serving coffee, not the coffee business serving people.”
That’s why we tell these stories. Stories bond us and connect us to the most intimate, treasured moments of our lives. When I think of the periods of my life where I grew the most, learned the most, felt the most, believed the most - I can see the faces who were standing next me, sharing that moment. Many of those moments were with you.
That’s why we are here. In this new moment.
After almost a decade of pulling this ragtag group together, we are celebrating, officially, our second birthday as the Green Apron Alliance.
Like any great birthday, we all deserve a present.
Our present, shared with you here now is because of you – the stories each of you have.
We want you to reflect, celebrate, grieve and feel, what it was like to be together building a 50-year-old legacy. We want you go to those closets, pull out those boxes and remember how you felt when you worked side-by-side with some of the best people you’d ever know.
This Green Apron Stories site is for all of us. We built the powerful legacy of Starbucks, we deserve to celebrate the accomplishments of our teamwork, the bounty of our hearts and souls, and the joys of long-forged friendships.
Green Apron Alliance continues to focus on the people. We know that for so many of us, when we left Starbucks, it might have been - traumatically, dramatically, unceremoniously. And although that pain was real and unrelenting, we come back to the people who were there for us.
The Green Apron Alliance is our new home - built by all of us. We will continue to welcome people who want values, respect and dignity with them on their new journeys. With the stories, relationships and learnings shared here, we can influence and build new legacies - new ways of being.
This is a treasure we all deserve. We built the Starbucks Coffee Company to be a generous gift to communities everywhere. Let’s celebrate each other on a job well done.
Happy Birthday Green Apron Alliance and Starbucks Coffee Company.
Can't wait to see the many stories that have made a difference in people's every day lives, shaped amazing leaders, formed a legacy of goodness, and inspired and nurtured the human spirit!!