Meet Starbucks partners who are joining with Operation Gratitude and Blue Star Families to support the well-being of the military community.

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When Jamie Dean tries to explain how proud she is of her son’s military service, words aren’t big enough to contain all she feels.

She feels it in her body though, a warmth that’s centered in her heart. When she got to meet his Naval ship as it returned to port two years ago, she couldn’t stop shaking and crying as she waited for her boy, now a chief petty officer, the fourth generation in her family to serve in the military. “I just can’t even describe it,” she says.

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Her family shows up for their country. And Dean, a Navy veteran and Starbucks Store manager, prides herself in showing up for her family.

But a little more than a year ago, she couldn’t. Just four hours after her son and daughter-in-law had their third child, her son had to deploy for four months. Dean yearned to help. In normal times, “I would have been on a plane in a heartbeat,” she says.

But these weren’t normal times. COVID-19 was beginning to take hold in the U.S., turning everything upside down. Traveling to Hawaii, where her son’s family was based, wasn’t allowed. But Blue Star Families, a nonprofit organization that works to help military families connect with their communities, stepped in to help organize meals and support for her daughter-in-law.

“If I can do one iota to help (Blue Star Families) that’s what we’re here for,” says Dean, who manages a Military Family Store in Riverside, California.

This May, during Military Appreciation Month, Starbucks recognizes the commitment made by the soldiers on the front lines and the families holding down the home front, and the efforts of partners like Dean who are supporting their mission. &nbsp;

As part of Starbucks commitment to responding to the needs of the military community, the company is partnering with <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.operationgratitude.com/" target="_blank">Operation Gratitude</a> and <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://bluestarfam.org/" target="_blank">Blue Star Families</a> to support the mental health and well-being of veterans and military families. For each <a href="https://www.starbucks.com/gift/category/military-month" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new Starbucks Military eGift card</a> activated during the month of May, Starbucks will donate $5, to be divided equally between the two organizations. &nbsp;

Matt Kress, senior manager of Veteran and Military Affairs at Starbucks, says that partnerships like those with Blue Star Families and Operation Gratitude can help build understanding and empathy between civilians and military service members through community events.

Kress served 22 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, including a special operations combat deployment to Iraq. He also is a retired firefighter and EMT (emergency medical technician). He understands that mental health issues can be hard to share, but he encourages others to do so. &nbsp;

“Tell the truth of what you have experienced, you will find people that will receive it with compassion and understanding,” he says. “Once you have been heard and understood, there are a wealth of resources to support you and your family.”

A commitment to veterans, military families

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Starbucks believes veterans and military families make the company better and communities stronger. In fact, Starbucks has hired more than 30,000 veterans and military spouses since 2013, far exceeding company goals, and the company has also dedicated 77 <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/starbucks-military-family-stores-a-place-to-connect/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Military Family Stores</a> across the country to help support service members, veterans and military families. These stores are typically near military bases and are usually staffed by veterans and military family members. &nbsp;

Dean’s store is located not far from March Air Force Reserve Base. She’s been a longtime supporter of Blue Star Families. Before COVID, she hosted events with the organization and provided a space where military spouses of a service member with post-traumatic stress could gather monthly for support in a safe environment. Dean would set up a table for them with pastries and coffee. &nbsp;

“It was a place for them to come and talk about their struggles,” she says. &nbsp;

Dean says that when it comes to mental health, she wants to help normalize it. It shouldn’t be any different than seeking help for a medical condition. “Everybody should look at mental health just like they look at diabetes,” she says. “They should know it’s OK. It’s OK to feel this way and get help.”

She sees her store as a place where “veterans can connect with each other and authentically be themselves and feel so proud to be in this store.” &nbsp;

She often thinks about her grandfather, a WWII and Korean War Navy veteran, and her dad, an Army veteran who served in the Vietnam War. Dean herself served in the Navy on active duty for four years and four more in the Navy Reserve. &nbsp;

Her store has a “missing man” table, to honor the memory of those who didn’t come home. “That could have been my dad,” she says, recalling how he was wounded in the Vietnam War and awarded two Purple Hearts.

One wall of her store is covered with handwritten messages of appreciation for members of the military: “Thank you for your service to America, land of the free because of the brave” and “love you, miss you, dad.”&nbsp;

More than anything, she wants people in her store to feel supported, whether they are serving in the military, veterans, military spouses or civilians. She aims to meet them where they are. “I want everyone who walks in to feel welcomed and a sense of belonging,” she says. &nbsp;

Serving those who serve

Danielle Lemus shares that same passion for creating community. About a year ago, when she took over as store manager of a Starbucks in Arlington, Virginia, she realized she had a lot of learning to do – and not just because she was new to the company. Many of her customers worked at the Pentagon or were affiliated with nearby Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, which houses the soldiers who guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery.

Neither a veteran nor military family member, Lemus nonetheless began connecting to the military community with something she felt like they did have in common: a commitment to service. She volunteered to put together care packages for military families and built a letter-writing station at her store so customers could send encouraging words to soldiers abroad. &nbsp;

She also became the area lead of the Starbucks Armed Forces Network – <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2020/starbucks-partner-networks-help-create-a-culture-of-belonging/" target="_blank">a partner (employee) resource group</a> for veterans, military spouses and others interested in supporting the military community – and helped launch a monthly meeting series highlighting partners who’ve served and the lessons they’ve learned.&nbsp; &nbsp;

“I can connect with that piece of it. I have a passion to serve as well,” Lemus says. “While that may be different in how we accomplish that, I admire so much the strength and courage it takes to have to turn away from your families and the people you love for the greater good.”&nbsp; &nbsp;

Lemus’ store, dedicated in mid-April, is Starbucks latest Military Family Store to open. About a third of her partners are military veterans, spouses or family members. One of them is Karl Schmiegel, a partner at the newly dedicated Military Family Store.

Schmiegel is a Marine veteran and the son of Kevin Schmiegel, the chief executive officer of Operation Gratitude, which connects volunteers who provide care packages with donated items and a hand-written letter to millions of deployed troops, veterans, military families and ﬁrst responders.

Schmiegel says he was raised to volunteer and give back and that’s something he’s able to do as a partner at the store. On a recent morning, Lemus, Schmiegel and others hosted a volunteer packing event with Operation Gratitude, making 500 coffee-filled care packages to go to the troops. &nbsp;

Shortly after, Starbucks partners, representatives from Blue Star Families and Operation Gratitude, elected officials, and members of the community joined virtually for a ceremony to dedicate the new Military Family Store. Three, they shared stories and talk about their passion for supporting members of the military, veterans and their families.

“We know that our nation is strongest when our military service members and their families are thriving,” says Penny Bolden, Blue Star Families’ senior director of cause partnerships. &nbsp;

Married to a Marine for more than 20 years, Bolden understands the stress that military families face with frequent moves and unpredictable schedules. Blue Star Families works to help military families connect with their communities, addressing the isolation that can be brought about by frequent moves and deployments. Communities, such as those created in the Military Family Stores, can help them feel at home, she says. &nbsp;

“The partnership with Starbucks is just critical to improving the mental health and resiliency of our servicemembers and their families,” she says.

Lemus, the store manager, is committed to doing all she can to support her customers and partners.

“My purpose is to experience love and harmony by building community and spreading kindness,” she says. “Bringing people together is important to me. It’s something that I value more than anything because I think we can learn so much from each other. We all have so much value to add to this world. How do we come together and make a difference, together? That’s what gets me pumped and excited.” &nbsp;

Meet Starbucks partners who are joining with Operation Gratitude and Blue Star Families to support the well-being of the military community.

During Military Appreciation Month, Starbucks focuses on supporting mental health

Stories to inspire and nurture the human spirit

Starbucks Stories

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Haley Herrera has been married for four years. For almost three of them, her husband has been away with the Army on overseas combat deployments and training assignments.

On one hand, she’s extremely proud. Her husband is a member of the <a href="https://www.soc.mil/USASFC/Groups/1st/1stSFGHomepage.html">1st Special Forces Group (Airborne)</a>, stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Wash. “You have tremendous pride in the work that your spouse does. All the things that the military has made for us – security, benefits, community,” Herrera says. “I would consider him to be our best and brightest. There’s a reason why he’s doing the job he’s doing. I can’t see him doing anything else. I wouldn’t want him to.”

On the other hand, she lives with a large amount of uncertainty. When he deployed last July – his third time – she knew he was going into an active combat situation in Afghanistan. That summer, she also took over as manager of a Starbucks store in DuPont, Wash., near the base.

“Sick, alone, nervous, with a 6-month old, excited for a new opportunity, distracted by my fear and anxiety, very real fears about something happening to him,” Herrera says, trying to describe the rush of feelings at the time. “About a month into the deployment, I found out I was pregnant. I was feeling unsure, feeling tremendous pressure to keep that all to myself. You have this preconceived notion that nobody understands.”

This May, during Military Appreciation Month, Starbucks recognizes the sacrifice and commitment made by the Herreras and all the other military families across the United States. We honor the soldiers on the front lines and the families holding down the home front.

As part of Starbucks commitment to responding to the needs of the military community, the company is partnering with <a href="https://bluestarfam.org/">Blue Star Families</a> and <a href="https://getheadstrong.org/">Headstrong</a> to support the mental health and well-being of military families and veterans. For each new <a href="https://www.starbucks.com/gift/category/military-app?utm_source=primary&amp;utm_medium=homepage&amp;utm_campaign=militaryappreciationmonth">Starbucks Military eGift card</a> activated between May 21 to June 1, Starbucks will donate $5 to Blue Star Families and Headstrong.

<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/starbucks-reaffirms-its-commitment-to-veterans/">This partnership is a continuation of the company’s existing efforts</a>. Starbucks believes veterans and military families make the company better and communities stronger. In fact, Starbucks has hired more than 26,000 veterans and military spouses since 2013, far exceeding company goals. The company has also dedicated 68 Military Family Stores across the country to help support soldiers, veterans and their families. These stores are typically near military bases and are usually staffed by veterans and military family members.

‘It makes me feel a part of something’

When Herrera took over the DuPont store last summer, she realized right away the level of deep shared understanding and unspoken support in her store community. About 90 percent of her store’s employees and customers are involved with the military – soldiers, base staff, veterans and family members.

“They knew the fears that I was having, that I hadn’t felt comfortable speaking,” Herrera says. “At that moment, I realized I need to do more to create this community for all of our partners (employees) who are feeling isolated and alone.”

She began mentoring store partners who are military spouses around career advancement. One of her store partners trained as a mental health counselor and social worker but moved with the military three times, meaning she had to recertify with a new state each time, and start yet another job search. Another partner was about to be promoted to assistant store manager in Washington state when the Army moved her and her family – with just a month’s notice – to North Carolina.

Herrera, who worked in human resources before joining Starbucks, believes military spouses can have a career at Starbucks. The company allows military spouses to transfer to other stores across the country when they’re relocated.

She also helped facilitate support groups at her store – on pause now with COVID-19 – including a mentorship group run by a retired Army officer that has been meeting for 29 years, almost every week since the store opened.

Last fall, her husband’s teammate – a close family friend – died during a combat mission. The moment was devastating, Herrera says, not only for the loss of human life, but for the way it played out with the surviving family – the stress caused by mundane discussions around paperwork and life insurance and navigating details of funeral arrangements. “It was horrible,” Herrera says. “A ton of very complex things that you would never even think about or even want to think about.”

The death reinforced the importance of her role. Herrera wants to facilitate meaningful conversations, develop programs and lead partner networks that expand on corporate initiatives and address more of what military partners are experiencing.

She also wants to directly confront the stigmas around mental health and well-being in the military community. Many reasons – not wanting to burden others, not wanting to constantly explain or justify or be vulnerable, assuming people don’t care – “cause the military community to internalize a lot of their struggles,” she says. “There’s a resistance to asking for help, to express what’s going on. (But) it’s crucial to somebody’s mental health to talk about it.”

Allyson Harasimowicz, Blue Star Families (BSF) Craig Newmark New York Tri-State Chapter Director, has moved 13 times in 25 years with the military – while raising four children. Her husband, Mike, a retired Air Force colonel, has been stationed all over the U.S. and deployed to the Middle East and Asia.

Right before one of those moves, their 18-month-old son Joshua was diagnosed with liver cancer. They arrived at a base in Missouri, with a severely sick child, not knowing a single person.

“That sounds like a real low point, but it really became one of the highest of high points,” Harasimowicz remembers. “I continually would be getting cards and notes of encouragement and meals. One person drove blood samples to a lab. It was one of the most difficult things we had to do and yet it was the most incredible camaraderie that we can say that we felt.”

Joshua, now 22 years old, is in college and completely healthy.

Harasimowicz wants to recreate those feelings of connection for other military families. BSF is a longtime partner to Starbucks and Harasimowicz has worked with Starbucks managers in the New York area – Brooklyn, Yonkers, Newburgh – to host instore hiring events, coffee connects and holiday parties for military families. She’s passed out free tickets to Broadway musicals and local museums, and organized scavenger hunts in Central Park.

During the quarantine, on Easter Sunday, BSF volunteers went shopping for a young military spouse who had just moved to the area and whose husband had deployed. She was at home with two young children, didn’t know her neighbors and was concerned about how she was going to safely get groceries.

“One of our main missions is helping our military families with that sense of belonging,” Harasimowicz says. “If you are a family that has to move every couple years, it’s hard to feel that. But we are in this life together. This COVID-19 craziness has really given that sense of, everybody is in the same boat here, and we have the same basic needs.”

If families and communities are strong, soldiers and veterans are strong too, says Mike Harasimowicz, who retired five years ago and assists his wife at many BSF events. It’s a lesson he’s learned many times as an Air Force commander: families and strong support systems help people survive crises.

“Isolation is not an option, you have to get involved,” he says. “When people become isolated, when people lose that sense of camaraderie, they are vulnerable. And that’s what we’re trying to fight. You are important, you do belong, your service is respected. Your service made a difference and we care about you.”

After he returned from his second tour of duty in Iraq, Pasha Palanker hit rock bottom. He’d suffered a traumatic brain injury caused by a rocket attack. When he was deemed medically nondeployable by the U.S. Army, he grappled with the loss of his identity after more than 12 years of service. Panic attacks and uncontrollable bursts of anger were affecting daily routines: work, family time, even just a trip to the grocery store.

“At that point, there were only two options,” Palanker remembers. “Suicide, or start the long climb out of a very dark place.”

For Palanker, an Army Master Sergeant who lives in a Washington D.C. suburb in Maryland, what made him choose the latter was his children – three young boys at the time (he now has four). Palanker’s own father had left the family when he was 6 years old, back in Moldova where he grew up. “To me, being a father, it’s a huge part of my identity,” he says. “Because of them, I gave it everything I had.”

Palanker’s mental health journey has been slow and painful, but steadily trending upward, he says. He’s now a client with Headstrong, which provides cost-free, stigma-free and confidential mental health care treatment to <a href="https://medium.com/@HeadstrongProj">veterans suffering from the hidden wounds of war</a>. Starbucks supports Headstrong’s mission to improve mental health outcomes for the military community and end veteran suicide.

“It’s so hard for soldiers and veterans to ask for help, for mental health help,” Palanker says. “Headstrong made the process so simple, then they get back to you right away, the next day, so you don’t have time to change your mind. Everyone I dealt with was so compassionate and so sensitive to my struggles. It just felt right, every step of the way.”

Born and raised in Moldova, part of the former Soviet Union and now one of the poorest countries in Europe, Palanker came to the U.S. when he was 15 years old. He settled with his mother, grandmother and little brother in North Hollywood.

“Started out in a rough neighborhood, welfare, didn’t speak English,” says Palanker, now 39. “But I would pinch myself every morning, happy to be in this country.”

Wanting to give back, he enlisted in the Army after graduating high school. By Christmas 2004, he was in Iraq, working as part of a counter IED (improvised explosive device) task force. He supported a team that would try to disarm roadside bombs or analyze scenes after one detonated.

His experiences overseas were intense. One time, he came within 10 feet of a suicide bomber. Another time, he had to go to a market after a truck bomb blew up there. Two weeks away from returning home at the end of his first deployment, in September 2005, an IED went off underneath Palanker’s feet. The explosion sent him flying 15 feet and burst his left ear drum, an injury which required three surgeries. He received the Purple Heart Medal, the first of two, the oldest military award still given to U.S. military members. &nbsp;

After his second deployment ended in 2015 – after the rocket attack – he decided to seek help. The anger and adrenaline that had helped him survive combat situations didn’t dissipate when he returned home. There were road rage incidents. He blew up at a passenger on an airplane who was kicking the chair behind him. He’d get irrationally angry at his boys when they dropped something and startled him. Increasingly, he spiraled into an unhealthy combination of guilt, isolation and alcohol.

His first session eased some of the “crushing pressure,” he says. Medication also helped, and then he started reading books on post-traumatic stress and brain injuries, which unlocked new revelations. He went through an intensive four-week in-house stay at Walter Reed Hospital, and eventually met Jessica Gada, the Headstrong therapist who is still helping him today.

“It took me five years to realize I had a problem, and it took me another five years to take it seriously,” Palanker says. “I underestimated the impact that post-traumatic stress would have on my life.”

He has strategies now – mentoring veterans struggling with mental health, taking long walks, retreating to his car when his emotions are about to spike and working out at a mixed-martial arts studio he also co-founded, called The Compound.

“I want anybody who’s struggling to know, there’s a lot that can be done,” Palanker says. “But that starts with you saying to somebody, a friend, a therapist, ‘I’m struggling.’ Once you say it, it becomes real, and once it’s real, you’re forced to do something about it. Once you say it, it’s out and it gives your friends permission to check up on you.

“I’m still struggling big time with things, but I’m in a lot better place,” Palanker says. “Now I have hope.”

When the battle isn’t over: Honoring veterans by supporting mental health - Starbucks Stories

When the battle isn’t over: Honoring veterans by supporting mental health

During Military Appreciation Month, Starbucks is partnering with Blue Star Families and Headstrong to support the mental health and well-being of military families and veterans.

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Jacquelyn Dyer joined the Navy to pursue her dream of owning her own café and bakery.

“It’s my passion. It’s what I’ve always wanted since I was about 7 years old,” said Jacquelyn, who was doing culinary school homework on the patio of a Starbucks in Norfolk, Virginia. “The whole reason I joined the Navy, actually, was because I wanted to get schooling paid for, and not to have any student loan debt, because that’s terrible.”

When she got out of the military, she tried to start school two days later. The transition was tough.

“When I first came back from my deployment, I feel there was a lot more darkness in my life,” she said. “It's really hard to explain the feelings you have when you're coming out of the military, because the camaraderie is unmatchable. You learn a whole different language when you join. You go from being constantly surrounded, working a lot of hours, to nobody understanding what you’re talking about – what you went through.”

A six-month internship at <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2018/mission-and-purpose-veterans-caregivers-find-new-direction-at-dog-tag-baker/">Dog Tag Bakery</a> helped turn that around. The non-profit in the D.C. area is geared toward helping military veterans, their spouses, and caregivers with entrepreneurial skills, but Jacquelyn said it also helped her confront some of her traumatic experiences, find her voice and tell her story.&nbsp;

“It was healing. That’s when the lightness really started coming back into my life,” she said. “I never would have told anybody that stuff, not even my family, you know? These were veterans who had seen similar things, if not worse, so it was people I could relate to. Now that I'm able to speak about some of the things that happened to me, and it doesn't hurt, it doesn't cause me to stress out as much as it used to and I'm at peace with myself more so than I ever was before.”

Working for the non-profit also made her realize she still wanted to realize her childhood dream, but with a twist.

“People today don't know how to cook, but it's kinda necessary to survive. I wanna open up a place that reaches out to families that are low income and allow their children to come to my kitchen and teach them how to cook, and then send them home with a meal for their family as well,” she said. 

 “It was healing. That’s when the lightness really started coming back into my life,” she said. 

Jacquelyn Dyer - Starbucks Stories

In honor of Military Appreciation Month, #ToBeHuman shares the story of Jacquelyn, a Navy Veteran pursuing her dream of owning a café where she can teach low-income families how to cook.

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Jacquelyn Dyer

Jacquelyn Dyer, Navy Veteran

Starbucks Military Family Stores have become a hub for active service members, veterans, families and community all over the country. But the connections made often go well beyond the four walls of the stores.

Richard Carawan stepped up to the bonfire with a stack of sand-colored T-shirts, standard issue from the Air Force. A respectful quiet fell over the spirited crowd of active service members, veterans and their families.

The now-threadbare shirts and Carawan, their owner, had been around the world together more than a few times during 20 years in the service. 

“For 20 years I was told what to wear and where to show up,” said Carawan, recounting the story last month at the Starbucks Military Family Store in Fairbanks, Alaska, while sipping coffee with his wife, Jo. He was wearing a baseball cap that read, “Retired, not expired.”

“When I realized I didn’t have to put a uniform on anymore, I turned to Jo and said, ‘What am I going to do now?’”

Carawan had retired from the Air Force in 2015 and had a hard time finding his footing as he returned to civilian life. But on that drizzly, fall evening in 2017 he was finally ready to symbolically retire the shirts – by fire— and embrace the future. Part of what helped get him to that point was joining <a href="https://www.teamrwb.org/">Team RWB</a>, a Veterans Service Organization (VSO) designed to help connect veterans and give them purpose and opportunities.

“It was such a powerful moment, one of those rare times you get to witness when people are being vulnerable, and everybody is there to support them,” said Chris Oliver, the chapter captain of Team RWB in Fairbanks who hosted the bonfire at the home she shares with her husband Ron, a lieutenant colonel with the Alaska Air National Guard. “We all just kind of nodded at him and he got some pats on the back and bro hugs, like, ‘We got you, man.’”

Team RWB is all about making veterans feel seen, supported and connected, Oliver said. The organization has a close relationship with Starbucks, and the Military Family Store in Fairbanks is a frequent venue for such connection. 

“This is where I get to gush about Starbucks,” Oliver said, laughing.

“It’s in the center of town, and really easy to get to. We’ve started having small group interactions and buddy check-ins there. It has a big work table that’s perfect for meetings, but also a place to have cozy fireside chats where you can look somebody in the eye and see how they’re really doing,” she said. 

Starbucks has opened 55 such Military Family Stores in the U.S. with plans to open hundreds more over the next few years. Military families often live far from family and friends, and Military Family Stores are located near major military bases to serve as a place of connection and support. Each store also works with Veterans Service Organizations such as <a href="https://bluestarfam.org/">Blue Star Families</a> and <a href="https://www.teamrwb.org/">Team RWB</a> to help connect local veterans and their families to services and resources.

In addition to Military Family Stores, in 2013 Starbucks committed to hiring 10,000 veterans and military spouses over five years. The company has reached that goal ahead of schedule and has actually hired nearly 25,000 veterans and military spouses. Many military spouses and veterans wear a small, embroidered American flag on the right side of their green aprons to represent their service and commitment.

Dan Hammer, manager of the Fairbanks store, said they are lucky to be stationed near two military bases. From the military spouses who work on his team to the military-inspired art in the café lobby, the store has connection as its core goal. The team hosts military, veterans’ and community events, but partners also venture out to provide support for activities on the bases as well, like the monthly United Service Organization (USO) pancake breakfast.

“From day one we have prioritized building those relationships,” he said. “It’s such an important part of what this store is.”

Egg hunts and letter writing parties in Fort Walton Beach

Atop the counter in the Military Family Store in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is a photo album detailing the last four years. Sheila Traynor, the store manager, started it when the store opened to track and celebrate all of the community events she and her store partners participate in, whether in the store, on nearby Eglin Air Force Base or in the community. There are photos of Easter egg hunts and fun runs, Christmas tree lightings and golf tournaments, letter writing parties for deployed service members and appreciation events for military spouses and children.

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“This experience has really opened my eyes to the gaps that exist for military families. &nbsp;… Hopefully our community outreach has changed some people’s outlook on Starbucks, too.”

Traynor’s passion and energy for serving the community is a perfect match for Hang Owen, a volunteer and local chapter lead for the VSO <a href="https://bluestarfam.org/">Blue Star Families</a>. The Fort Walton Beach store partners with Blue Star Families for all kinds of events.

Blue Star Families tries to connect military families to their neighbors to create vibrant communities of mutual support made stronger by taking care of each other, said Owen, who has been a military spouse for 18 years and has relocated around the country seven or eight times.

“I see the gaps and I have a passion for helping others, so I want people to know there are resources out there. I like to see families know there are people out there who care about them. We’re there for military families, for veterans, for retirees and for community partners,” Owen said. “Moving around is hard enough as it is. I like to see the smiles on their faces. That’s a big part of it, is just the joy.”

Owen said she enjoys working in tandem with Starbucks to organize and participate in community events. She has a particular passion for book drives and getting donated books to military children.

“Sheila and I are well known in the community now as the coffee lady and the book lady,” Owen said. “We both have such a passion for helping military families and being a part of the community. She has helped me step out of my comfort zone. We keep telling each other that we probably need to start saying no sometimes, but we haven’t yet.”

Traynor said she’s delighted to have created those connections with her store as a hub for even more.

“They can come to us if they need to find support. They can use us as a meeting place. I really do love it, as you can tell,” she said. “If I can connect anybody to help or try to help change anybody’s perception, I’m going to do it.” 

A place for community to connect - Starbucks Stories

Starbucks Military Family Stores have become a hub of for active service members, veterans, families and community all over the country.

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A place for community to connect

In honor of Military Spouse Appreciation Day on May 10, four Starbucks partners who have adapted to the unique challenges of life as military spouses offer their best advice for making relocation as painless as possible.

Moving is hard – so hard, it regularly makes the short list of life’s most stressful moments. But packing tape, bubble wrap, boxes and waking up in a strange, new place called home is all part of the drill for military spouses.

Lenae Harris knows that well. Harris, a Starbucks store manager in Crestview, Florida, has moved four times with her husband, who is in the Air Force, since the two were married in 2012.

Washington. Alaska. Ohio. Florida. Harris said the couple doesn’t always know a move is coming, but she always has her guard up.

“My husband will call me and say, ‘Guess what, we’re moving.’ And I will say, ‘Seriously? We just got here!’” Harris said.

Fortunately, her career has moved with her. Starbucks offers military spouses the opportunity to transfer to a new location when a couple or family receive orders to relocate, which means despite navigating four moves in seven years, Harris has been able to transfer to six different stores to keep her career on track, advancing from barista to store manager. 

“I have a company that supports me in a way that means I can support my husband and I can grow as well. I find that so great,” Harris said. “You can go anywhere in the world and you have this support. It might be a different store or a different manager, but you still have that home away from home everywhere you go. This is your baseline. You don’t have to start from zero.” 

Ashley Mackey, an assistant store manager in Allen, Texas, served in the Navy for four years and is also a military spouse; her husband is a Marine.

“Transitioning out of the military and back into the civilian world was really hard,” Mackey said. “Most companies don’t want to hire you knowing you’re a military spouse. They kind of pass you over.” 

When she was getting ready to leave the Navy in 2017, Mackey attended a class for veterans and military personnel transitioning out of the Armed Services. That’s where she learned that, in addition to regular Starbucks benefits like access to health coverage, stock and savings and the opportunity to earn a tuition-free online bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University (ASU), the company also offers veteran and military spouse partners expanded benefits like Military Leave Pay, the ability to transfer stores when relocated and the opportunity to extend the ASU tuition reimbursement benefit to a spouse or child. Later, she attended a military spouse hiring fair at Camp Pendleton and decided to apply at Starbucks. Recruiters encouraged her to apply for a leadership position, based on her experience in the military, and a few weeks later she was hired as an assistant store manager.

In 2013, Starbucks committed to hiring 10,000 veterans and military spouses over the next five years. The company has now hired nearly 25,000 veterans and military spouses, many of whom wear a small, embroidered American flag on the right side of their green aprons to represent their service and commitment.

In addition to its commitment to hire veterans and military spouses, Starbucks has opened 55 Military Family Stores, which are located near major military bases and act as places of connection and support, and has plans to open hundreds more over the next few years. Each store also partners with nonprofit organizations to provide services for local veterans and their families.

“It just really stuck with me how much Starbucks appreciates every single employee to the point they don’t even say employee, they say partner,” Mackey said. “I really liked that, because the military is a huge family. We have each other’s backs. I thought that was really important. Working for Starbucks made transitioning out of the Navy a little easier. It was kind of the same environment.”

In honor of Military Spouse Appreciation Day on May 10, Harris and three other Starbucks military spouses who have developed keen moving super powers over the years offer their best advice to make relocation as painless as possible. 

Do some digital reconnaissance on your new hometown.

As soon as she finds out she’s moving, Harris turns to social media to investigate potential neighborhoods and their proximity to the military base, schools, dog parks, gyms, child care, researching crime rates and more, asking for recommendations and advice. “Social media is an amazing tool to get to know an area. People more likely to be honest than a chamber of commerce.” Harris said Facebook groups in particular have been immensely helpful in learning about a new place. Pro-tip for military spouses: Search for the base name plus the word spouses. “There’s never not been a spouses Facebook group in any placed we’ve moved to,” she said.

Make the move an adventure.

Harris said each time her husband gets orders to move, they have sat with their daughter, now 8, and had a conversation. “We don't want her to be blindsided. We tell her where we’re moving and show her a map of where we are and where we're going to be.” The next time they move their son, 4, will be old enough to join.

For the actual move, the family uses the drive as a mini vacation. “Make adventure before you have to unpack. It’s good to give yourselves a couple of days in the car to decompress from exhausting goodbyes. We plan fun hotel stops, swim in the pool and enjoy the journey. Almost like you can make it a little vacation.”

<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2018/military-spouses-only-constant-is-change/">Rachael Bialcak</a>, a store manager in Ridgecrest, California, has transferred to four stores in three different states in the five years she’s been married to her husband, who is in the Air Force. When they move, she makes two goodie baskets with favorite snacks and travel foods like Starburst, beef jerky and sunflower seeds – one for her car, and one for her husband’s car. Since they have two cars, they have to drive separately but together to their new home.

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“Food can be an emotional support. And I always bring my walkie talkies,” Bialcak said. “You could always use your phones, but we like to just randomly talk on our walkie talkies, usually something silly or a boost of encouragement. We usually drive eight or nine hours a day, and I don’t have cruise control in my car, so around the six-hour mark I will hear my husband’s voice on the walkie talkie saying, ‘How’s your foot doing?’ and I’ll answer, ‘Greeeeeat.’ It definitely helps.”

Buy the movers Gatorade and pizza. Because happy movers.

The military offers the option of having movers pack, move and unpack families who are relocating. “We always buy them pizza and Gatorade,” Harris said. “They always tell us no, but they always eat it. Be nice to them. Don't hover. Leave them alone. You want the packers and movers to be happy.”

Have loose timelines.

“You are never as packed as you think,” said Taylor Weisbecker, a store manager in Lumberton, North Carolina, whose husband is in the Army. For one move, they were supposed to leave at 9 a.m., but with packing and loose ends didn’t end up leaving until 5 p.m. “He had an appointment to make in our new place the next morning, so we drove through the night in separate vehicles. I had my puppy, Merle, in the front seat. I called my husband at one point, at about four in the morning, and said, ‘What are we doing?’ You can’t do anything but laugh. You need to have loose timelines. Everything needs to be loose.”

Attitude is everything.

“Don't look at it as packing just to unpack and do it all over again. It sounds super cliché, but just embrace it,” Harris said. “You have this opportunity to go somewhere and experience a new place. The average person doesn't get to do this. Wherever you're going is where you're meant to be. Well … for a little bit.”

It’s never too soon to declutter.

As soon as her family gets orders to relocate, Harris goes on a cleaning and decluttering spree to prepare her house for a move. “I clean everything. I rotate out clothes we don’t wear. I get rid of everything we don’t use – all those small things you accumulate without even thinking about. If it has dust on it, don’t bring it. The less you have to move, the easier it's going to be.”

Weisbecker said by the time you love where you’re living, your spouse is going to get orders. “Without a doubt, it always happens. You take a few years, meet people, get a groove, and then it’s time to go again,” she said. “But to put it in perspective. Now I have friends all over the United States. Friends are what makes a place great, so keep those relationships going.”

Work for a company that will move with you.

“Transitioning out of the military and back into the civilian world was really hard,” Mackey said. “And then most companies don’t want to hire you, knowing you’re a military spouse. They kind of pass you over. I was concerned it could have been a struggle, knowing both the veteran side and the military spouse side, but I am 100 percent happy with Starbucks. They have supported me in every way. They’ve let me be proud of serving. I get to have an apron that shows what I’ve done and wear it every day. Everyone is so welcoming.”

Bialcak agrees. “One thing I absolutely love is with our mission and values, I know wherever I go I will have the same kind of camaraderie I’ve had in every store. As military spouses, we can get complacent and think we have to put ourselves on hold. I love that Starbucks has given me an opportunity to invest in myself. I love my husband and will always be right by his side. He’s sacrificing so much, but it’s still so good that I can do something for myself, too. Wherever we move I know I have a little piece of home in every Starbucks, and it’s nice to have that consistent place to call home.”

Military spouse super power: making everywhere home - Starbucks Stories

Military spouse super power: making everywhere home

﻿In honor of Military Spouse Appreciation Day on May 10, four Starbucks partners who have adapted to the unique challenges of life as military spouses offer their best advice for making relocation as painless as possible.

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