Houston's Fifth Ward may not have a Starbucks drive-thru, but its streets have been flooded with the company's partners all weekend.
Nearly 10,000 store managers converged in Houston on Thursday for the company's Global Leadership Conference for three days of leadership training and coffee education, but the group's infectious energy has been most palpable in its volunteer efforts along Lyons Avenue.
"When I walked through the Fifth Ward and saw the conditions of the houses and really the people in need, I just thought this is where we need to be," Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz told KHOU.
By Saturday, the crew will have repainted and repaired 80 homes, cleaned up 100 lots and built a new community garden. This is just the beginning of a 36-month, multimillion dollar project to perk up the neighborhood and prepare it for future growth.
The coffee corporation anticipates that it will have poured out nearly $22 million in economic and community service impact to the Bayou City over the three-day conference.
Watch KHOU's full report below:
