A place for community to connect
Starbucks Military Family Stores have become a hub of 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.
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 Team RWB, 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 Blue Star Families and Team RWB 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.
“I really took it to heart when Starbucks dedicated my store as the 30th Military Family Store and set out to make it the best I could,” Traynor said.
“This experience has really opened my eyes to the gaps that exist for military families. … 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 Blue Star Families. 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.”
