A deaf Filipina American finds understanding

It is possible for corporations to contribute to the quality of life ... if they want to

Sherilynn finds support and understanding at a Starbucks.

HAVE YOU ever been in a room full of deaf people and they are communicating with each other using sign language? Hands a flutter going a million miles a minute. If you're elite me and totally ignorant in the use of signing, you'd feel lost, frustrated and left alone.

Now imagine if your deaf and you are surrounded by a group of people talking each other.

Without knowing anyone, Sherilynn went to a deaf meet-up at Starbucks, where she found a new community that changed her life.

This video was released by Starbucks a couple of years ago, way before this blog was born. It is so well done, I thought I'd share it with you all, especially because it featured a couple of Filipino Americans.

It's also a reminder that a corporation doesn't have to be an asshole to in order to make money, a belief that they must teach at business schools because that's the image the big bosses project to their shareholders.

UPDATE: Oops! Starbucks stumbles on its attempt to start a conversation on race relations. #racetogether

In 2011, it was alleged that some deaf customers were treated badly in one of Starbuck's New York City franchises. In response, the company issued this statement.

Recent allegations have surfaced in the media regarding the treatment of some Deaf customers in two of our New York City stores. On behalf of the over 200,000 partners (employees), we want to take the opportunity to be clear that discrimination of any kind is not tolerated at Starbucks. We take these allegations very seriously, and believe they are neither consistent with our values nor our track record of engaging the Deaf community both as partners and as customers...

Starbucks is a business with humanity at its soul and communities in which we have the opportunity to serve are the heart of our business.

Even though the world's top coffee roaster didn't exactly do the series of vignettes out of the goodness  of their heart, what they did produce in response to some allegations is pretty damn good (as the video below shows)

For more about Starbucks and its policy of inclusion, click here. To be clear, like other companies, Starbucks is in business to make money, but it demonstrates that a giant corporation doesn't have to exploit its workers, ruin the environment or ignore the public in order to meet the needs of its investors and still be a contributing member of our communities.

If the Supreme Court continues to insist that a corporation is a "person," (Citizens United vs. FEC) then those "persons" need to step up to the plate and be good citizens. Starbucks is a good example of corporate responsibility.

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