(Seguin) — The Guadalupe County Children’s Advocacy Center has received a surprise donation from Starbucks. On Tuesday, Starbucks manager Andrea Bryan with a team of baristas, presented the center with a $1,000 Starbucks Neighborhood Grant.
“This award is something Starbucks does every year,” said Bryan. “They do about $2 million every year. It supports non-profit organizations and small organizations within our communities, kind of giving back for all they do for us. This is my first year being a manager so I nominated this particular organization because it touches close to home for me.”
Bryan said Starbucks employees play an integral part in selecting award nominees, and both baristas and managers participate in the process. Since the awards are distributed nationwide, she was also excited to see Seguin recognized.
“I’m so excited for Seguin because its a small community, so it’s really important we were chosen,” said Bryan. “I chose this company because for me it’s a personal subject. I think when I was younger, if they had organizations like this in my community, things could have been a little bit different. Plus, it’s so important that children’s voices are heard and that mothers are heard everywhere.”
The Children’s Advocacy Center works with the community offering forensic interviews and other services for children. Due to the pandemic, many fundraising activities were altered this year, leading to less income for the non-profit.
In April, the Advocacy Center held the Champions for Courageous Children campaign, which had a $1,000 fundraising goal. COVID-19, however, caused them to fall short.
According to Christy Williams, the center’s executive director, the grant will supplement that goal.
“Things like this, we’re still putting it towards that goal of $100,000,” said Williams. “This just got us a thousand dollars closer to our end goals, which is amazing and that’s how we keep this place going. That’s how we are able to provide the services that we provide to everybody that comes through our doors because if they are coming through our doors, they need these specialized services and we want to be here for that. Our board is really active in fundraising for us and so I know when we did this campaign and didn’t come to our goal, that was a disappointment for them because they worked really hard.”
The Starbucks Neighborhood Grant is a huge step in the right financial direction, and Williams, the Center’s Board, and other employees are all thankful.
“When we get community partners to support us and when we get that recognition from them, but also from their national-level partners, it’s amazing the work that can be done with all of that support,” said Williams.
“We are just really thankful for the community and the community support and for Starbucks for thinking of us and surprising us with this. That was an amazing way to start off a really hard Monday.”
Community members wishing to help can reach out to the Children’s Advocacy Center or visit its website to make a one-time or monthly sustaining donation, which will support the goals of providing a safe lace for the children of Guadalupe County.