EMPLOYEE BLOG, NEWSLETTERS

Employee Newsletter 9/11/2023

Posted on by Val Newhouse

CoCo Reflections from Kyle Ryan:

This Week’s CoCo: Take Risks

We’ve all most likely heard the phrase “high risk equals high reward,” so… employee trip to Potawatomi Casino anyone? Taking risks in the workplace is a challenging and often essential aspect of personal and professional growth. It involves stepping out of one’s comfort zone and embracing uncertainty, and while it can lead to some failures from time to time, the process of taking risks fundamentally drives progress. Here’s another phrase we might have heard, it’s a favorite among writers’ rooms for film and television: Be wrong as fast as you can. This is mostly in reference to the phase of writing or developing an idea where everyone is simply brainstorming to get in the right frame of mind in order to really flesh out a project. Get the “bad” ideas out of the way as quickly as possible so that you can start to truly hone in on what it is you are trying to achieve. However, for a lot of us, we don’t have the grace period of a brainstorming session when tackling issues our teams face, so taking risks in the moment becomes a cornerstone for driving our goals forward.

When we tackle challenging projects or roles that push our boundaries, we open ourselves up to gaining new skills and experiences. These not only enhance our professional abilities, but also provide a sense of accomplishment and self-worth. The scary part is knowing that each risk has a, somewhat, equal opportunity to not turn out the way we hoped. We often feel that failed projects waste time and resources, and may damage our reputation or an organization’s credibility. Learning from failure is a fundamental aspect of growth, and that applies to anything we may want to attempt in our lives. Instead of viewing failures as setbacks, we can analyze what went wrong, extract valuable lessons, and utilize those lessons for future endeavors. So that the next time we approach a task or obstacle, we can better assess the potential risks and rewards, have a backup plan, and seek guidance from team members and mentors.

This iterative process of trial and error is at the heart of how we create something new and exciting. So take a risk, and embrace the unknown!

Next Week’s CoCo: Be Urgent to the Customer

In an era of faster-than-light service, to be urgent to the customer is to hold a significant amount of care for their time and expectations. Urgency in our craft, or really any, is fundamentally about empathy. In practical terms, it means promptly addressing questions, swiftly resolving issues, and consistently fulfilling commitments. The urgency we apply reflects a truly strong dedication to excellence in what we do. It’s a commitment to not just meeting expectations, but exceeding them. Sometimes the effects of this are instantaneous and makes us even more willing to practice that level of urgency in the future, as most customers are quick to share their gratitude for assisting them so quickly. Elsewhere, for many team members in non-customer facing roles, this can look more like an invisible hand smoothly guiding every part of the process to its end goal, or an overall sense of “when everything is working properly, you won’t even notice it happening.”

At the same time, the concept of being urgent extends, with the same amount of importance, to our coworkers. The essence here lies in recognizing and prioritizing the needs of others, whether it involves assisting them with a project, providing timely feedback, or swiftly responding to their requests. In a collaborative environment, urgency is a manifestation of our understanding that time is a finite resource. It’s about offering a helping hand when a teammate is overwhelmed, which in turn makes us want to return the favor to others. In these moments, everyone feels respected, heard, and genuinely cared for. Team members become not just colleagues; they become allies, always ready to share the load and contribute to each other’s success. 

Urgency strengthens the bonds that hold teams together, making them more resilient and capable of achieving remarkable results. More than just a motivator to “work faster,” it’s a promise to value the time and expectations of our teams and customers.

CoCo Heroes:

  • Take Risks: This Core Commitment Hero comes from the Cafe Coach group – MCCs and Karen want to send a special shout out to our newest Cafe Coach Trainees, Beth M (Tosa B) and Maddy M (OCN)! Through their learning and development in cafe so far, both Beth and Maddy became driven to lead cafe teams in creating Remarkable Care. They are excited to step into Cafe Coach training this week! Applying for a new role and pursuing path advancement demonstrates the willingness to take a risk, try a new thing, and grow oneself to benefit their team and SCC as a whole. Way to go, Beth and Maddy – we’re excited to see you in action as CCTs!    
  • Be Urgent to the Customer: This Core Commitment Hero comes from the Production Team – Bree Bertz! They are capable of helping out in every position in production (even recently doing PM deliveries) and as the Production Floor Manager, they are really great about accommodating any Ecom Customer requests and needs, Customer Care needs, and internal customer needs, while helping Kyle and the team get all of our web orders out in under one day, from order to shipment!

Going-Ons: 

  • Gift Card Giveback Winners: Thanks to all our cafe team members for your work to share the Summer ’23 Gift Card Give Back with our customers! 7 out of 8 cafes outperformed their $/customer sales from August ’22, and as a Retail team, we beat last August by $0.83/customer! Our winners are….
    • SHOREWOOD CAFE who most outperformed Summer ’22 and also beat April $/customer – they beat their Summer ‘ss by $2.86/cust and beat April by $1.57! 
    • HARWOOD CAFE for best performance in consistent $/cust growth: they beat their Summer ’22 by $2.30/cust, and beat April by $2.29!! 

    Congratulations Shorewood & Harwood Cafes! Have fun as a team planning how you will spend your winnings! 

  • SCC Transportation Grant – Opening Soon: Mark your calendar Coffee Geeks! In striving to be equitable, inclusive, and environmentally conscious, SCC offers a transportation grant opportunity to a handful of team members each quarter. This grant is awarded based on need. Team members who receive this grant will receive a monthly reimbursement towards a bus pass, bike, etc. If your primary method of transportation to work is something other than a personal vehicle and you are interested in participating, please email teams@stonecreekcoffee.com to request an application. All current and previous recipients should reach out to Teams to request a new application to reapply for the upcoming quarter. We will be accepting applications Monday, October 2 through the end of the day Monday, October 9, 2023. Q4 grant recipients will be selected by the end of the day on Monday, October 16th. Please see the 2023 Employee Handbook for additional details.
  • Coffee Geeks Cycle Challenge | Brewing Change: Stone Creek Coffee is thrilled to be supporting Radar, one of our Factory Cafe baristas, in their Brewing Change initiative for the second time! During the month of September, Radar will be participating in the Great Cycle Challenge to end childhood cancer and is excited to assemble a team of Coffee Geeks to join them. Please see a note from Radar below with more details about how you can join their team! Stone Creek Coffee will also be matching SCC team member donations up to $2,000 total for those who wish to participate by donating! Please forward your donation receipts to teams@stonecreekcoffee.com.
    • Every year, I participate in the Great Cycle Challenge to help raise money for the Children’s Cancer Research Fund. This year, I wanted to invite all of you to participate with me through Brewing Change! Our team is called Coffee Geeks. How does the Great Cycle Challenge work? You set yourself a ride target and pedal it down over the month, logging your miles via a free app which is linked to your personal rider page. You can ride on or off road or on a stationary bike at home. You can also link your Great Cycle Challenge app to Strava or Map My Ride to track miles or manually enter them. To join our team, check out our team page here. I hope you can join Coffee Geeks and pedal with us this September to help end childhood cancer.
  • October 4th Professional Development Opportunity: We are thrilled to share our third SCC Professional Development workshop with our teams! On Wednesday, October 4th, all SCC team members are eligible to participate in Personal Finance and Budgeting Class. This class will be led by our Director of Finance, Garrett McGowan, who will walk through how to build your personal budget and other pro-tips for maintaining financial wellbeing. Part-Time and Full-Time team members are invited to attend and are eligible for Paid Professional Development Time to attend from 2-5pm in the Factory Meeting Room on Wednesday 10/4. Click here to sign up for our October Professional Development opportunity. See you there!
  • October 21st MKE Barista League: The Barista League holds unique coffee competitions all over the world, and this fall they’re coming to Milwaukee! Interested team members can choose to compete (free – compete in pairs; competitors are limited so sign up early!), volunteer (eligible for paid volunteer time), or just attend the event (tickets available for purchase). While SCC is not formally involved in the event, we are a community of #CoffeeGeeks and wanted to share this info with you! For more info, as well as competitor applications, volunteer applications, and ticket pricing, check out their website. 
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Job Openings:

  • Become a Cafe Coach Trainee: If you’re looking for a role to get you started on a career in coffee, then the Cafe Coach position is it! Many of SCC’s Company Leaders started at SCC as Baristas and worked as Cafe Coaches before advancing into their current roles. The Cafe Coach (Store Manager) role exists as the Team Leader and main administrative presence in Stone Creek Coffee Cafés. Our Cafe Coaches begin their journey with Stone Creek Coffee as a Cafe Coach in Training. Our Cafe Coach Trainee (CCT) program is designed to equip individuals to support larger teams and business units as they grow in their path. Click here to apply! 
  • Looking for a Wholesale Account Manager: We are seeking a Wholesale Account Manager to join our wonderful Customer Care team! We invite you to click the link below to learn more about the Wholesale Account Manager position and apply if you are interested. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to abalestrieri@stonecreekcoffee.com with any questions. Apply here at our SCC website!
  • Something is Brewing in WFB: Hey there, coffee enthusiasts! Get ready for a caffeine-infused adventure as we gear up to Create Remarkable Care in the heart of Whitefish Bay at our Cafe & Kitchen, set to open its doors this November! We’re seeking a team of individuals who are eager to bring this beautiful Cafe to life! If you are interested in joining the Whitefish Bay opening team, either as a permanent transfer or a temporary transfer, reach out to teams@stonecreekcoffee.com! Further, if you have friends who may be interested in joining our team and training to transfer, we welcome you to invite them to apply via our website! Psssstttt! Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to be a part of something extraordinary! Join the Whitefish Bay opening team!
view all current openings

Wins & Shout-outs:

Josephine Bieker – Bakery
Jo is always crushing it in the Bakery. They are urgent to all the work they do and they catch on to new things quickly. Everyone enjoys their positivity and care. #remarkable

Emily Schrock – Delafield Barista
Emily crushed the gift card give back sale. Thank you for speaking up to customers and taking risks in your interactions. Way to crush it!

If you’d like to recognize or celebrate a teammate, we would love to hear about it! By clicking here, you can fill out a form to nominate a hero and choose how you would like them to be celebrated.

Birthdays:

  • 9/12 – Madisen DeBord
  • 9/12 – Erik Noble-Macherey
  • 9/14 – Silken Bayer
  • 9/16 – Yesenia Perez-Velazquez
  • 9/25 – Noah Vincent
  • 9/25 – Noah Culbreth
  • 9/29 – Drew Pond

Anniversaries:

  • Silken Bayer – 9 years!
  • Margaret Bigler – 1 year!
  • Amy Callahan – 1 year!
  • River Cardwell – 1 year!
  • Chris Chapman – 1 year!
  • Bradley Cope – 2 years!
  • Sundance Duchow – 1 year!
  • Payson East – 2 years!
  • Jenai Ellner – 4 years!
  • Katie Fariss – 1 year!
  • Mercy Garsombke – 2 years!
  • Claire Gorman – 2 years!
  • Eva Hagen – 8 years!
  • Arabella Husson – 2 years!
  • Aaron Johnson – 4 years!
  • Saragrace Johnson – 4 years!
  • Sarah Lechtenberg – 2 years!
  • Mathew Mahnke – 5 years!
  • Garrett McGowan – 5 years!
  • Erik Noble-Macherey – 1 year!
  • Olivia O’Neill – 7 years!
  • Natalie Powers – 1 year!
  • Stuart Rosenthal – 2 years!
  • Brooke Sherman – 3 years!
  • Radar Vandentoorn – 2 years!

Welcomes:

  • Josh Williams – Oconomowoc 
  • Kristaleen Hernandez – Baker
  • Ryan Sablay – Line Cook

Looking for volunteer opportunities? Click here to see our Volunteer Opportunity Index.

Employee Discount Codes:
Please don’t share these with non-employees

  • 20% Employee-Only Website Coupon Code
    • September: Sep2023sccemp
  • 40% Employee-Only Mobile App Coupon Code
    • September: Sep2023sccemp

Catch up on all of our newsletters, company updates, recipes, and more in our Employee Blog here.

Ways to Speak Up:

Do you want to speak up about ideas, thoughts, and more? Send an email to Teams & People (teams@stonecreekcoffee.com) or use the button below to send a note anonymously.

At Stone Creek Coffee, social responsibility is a foundational element of our identity. We believe that a commitment to the environment must coexist with other elements of social responsibility for a holistic approach to doing our best for the world and others.

Stone Creek Coffee will regularly audit and identify areas of environmental strength and weakness within the overall operations of the organization.  We will attempt to reduce any negative impacts to air, surface water, ground water, public health, community quality of life, and employee health while producing coffee that is sweet, clean, and juicy. Stone Creek Coffee will strive for continual improvement in pollution prevention while meeting or exceeding all regulations.

Eric Resch, Managing Director
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As a mission-driven company, at Stone Creek Coffee, we believe in serving and enhancing the local communities we live and work in.

We believe that the socially responsible practices we apply daily in our internal operations can proliferate with the involvement of our stakeholders, customers, and our communities. In each community where our employees work and live, we — as Stone Creek Coffee and individual members of the community — actively create opportunities to play a positive role through various initiatives. These initiatives include support of important charitable organizations through monetary and/or material donations, promoting volunteerism, and more.

In line with our mission to be socially responsible, we also commit to the following: 

Serving Local Customers
  • We commit to serve at least 75% local and independent clients or customers. 
  • Local Hiring - As a company that is committed to its local community, at Stone Creek Coffee, we are also committed to local hiring.
  • Local Suppliers - We are committed to using local suppliers when possible.

Eric Resch, Managing Director
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SUPPLIER CODE OF CONDUCT

At Stone Creek Coffee, social responsibility is a foundational aspect of our identity. As such, we expect our partners and suppliers to conduct themselves and their business in an ethical, legal, and socially responsible manner including, but not limited to, their commitment to the environment, their employees, and the community. 

Legal Requirements

We expect that all suppliers know and follow the laws that apply to them and their business, as well as to treat the law as the minimum standard. 

Ethical Requirements - Integrity

At Stone Creek Coffee, we believe in conducting business with integrity and as a force for good. We expect our suppliers to operate fairly and ethically. Bribes, kickbacks, inappropriate gifts or hospitality, or other improper incentives in connection with Stone Creek Coffee are not tolerated. Suppliers are expected to avoid any conflict of interest relating to financial interests or other arrangements with our employees that may be considered inappropriate, and are to work with their own suppliers to promote business conduct consistent with the principles in this Code.

Labor Requirements 

Child Labor and Slavery - We do not tolerate child labor or slavery in our supply chain. Consistent with the United Nations Global compact principles, suppliers should avoid any sort of child labor in the business operations. 

Identification of Concerns - Suppliers are required to provide means for their employees to report concerns or potentially unlawful activities in the workplace. Any report should be treated in a confidential manner. Suppliers will investigate such reports and take corrective action if needed.

Wages and Working Conditions

Working Hours, Wages and Benefits - Working hours for suppliers’ employees will not exceed the maximum set by the applicable national law. Compensation paid to employees will comply with applicable national wage laws and ensure an adequate standard of living. Suppliers are expected to provide their employees with fair and competitive compensation and benefits. Compensation and benefits should aim at providing an adequate standard of living for employees and their families. Suppliers’ employees will be paid in a timely manner. It is recommended that suppliers offer their employees ample training and educational opportunities.

Diversity and Inclusion - Fair and equal treatment of all employees is expected to be a fundamental principle of all of our supplier’s corporate policies. Typical discriminatory treatment takes into consideration – consciously or unconsciously – irrelevant characteristics of an employee such as race, national origin, gender, age, physical characteristics, social origin, disability, religion, family status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or any unlawful criterion under applicable law. Suppliers will ensure that their employees are not harassed in any way. Stone Creek Coffee encourages its suppliers to provide an inclusive and supportive working environment while exercising diversity when it comes to their employees as well as in their decisions to select subcontractors.

Health, Safety, Quality, and Security

Health and Safety - In order to provide dignity and respect, we expect all of our suppliers to protect workers’ rights and provide safe and healthy working conditions. We encourage our supplier partners to foster an environment that is inclusive, and free of harassment and discrimination. 

Emergency Preparedness, Risk Information, and Training - Suppliers will make available safety information on identified workplace risks and suppliers’ employees will be correspondingly trained to ensure they are adequately protected. Suppliers will identify and assess likely and potential emergency situations in the workplace and minimize their impact by implementing emergency plans and response procedures.

Quality and Security - Suppliers are expected to have good security practices across their supply chains. Suppliers will maintain processes and standards that are designed to assure the integrity of each shipment to Stone Creek Coffee from its origin through to its destination and all points in between. Suppliers are expected to implement the necessary and appropriate measures in their area of responsibility to ensure that Stone Creek Coffee products, their workable components or raw materials as well as the corresponding know-how do not end up in the hands of counterfeiters or third parties and do not leave the legal supply chain.

Environmental Awareness 

Waste and Emissions - Suppliers will have systems in place to ensure the safe handling, movement, storage, recycling, reuse and management of waste, air emissions and wastewater discharges. Any of these activities that have the potential to adversely impact human or environmental health will be appropriately managed, measured, controlled and handled prior to release of any substance into the environment. Suppliers will have systems in place to prevent or mitigate accidental spills and releases into the environment.

Resource Conservation and Climate Protection - Suppliers are expected to use natural resources (e.g. water, sources of energy, raw materials) n an economical way. Negative impacts on the environment and climate will be minimized or eliminated at their source or by practices such as the modification of production, maintenance and facility processes, material substitution, conservation, recycling and material reutilization. Suppliers will engage in the development and use of climate-friendly products and processes to reduce power consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Preference to Purchase from Local Suppliers and Suppliers with Ownership from Underrepresented Populations - At Stone Creek Coffee, we are committed to our community and the environment. As such, we have a preference to purchase from local suppliers when possible, as well as to purchase from suppliers who support other local suppliers. We also give preferences to suppliers with ownership from underrepresented populations.

Supplier Audits and Record Keeping - In order to make responsible, well-informed business decisions and disclose truthful and timely information to our stakeholders, we expect our supplier partners to maintain accurate and honest records.  In line with this, we expect our supplier partners to do the following: maintain books and records that reflect all transactions in an accurate, honest, and timely way; employ appropriate quality audit and compliance processes for matters such as product and food safety, worker health and safety, and labor and employment; to enable traceability, disclose the location of facilities and known origins of materials upon request/audit.

When screening potential suppliers, we screen for the following:
  1. Compliance with all local laws and regulations, including those related to social and environmental performance
  2. Good governance, including policies related to ethics and corruption, as well as diversity and inclusion
  3. Positive practices beyond what is required by regulations (e.g. environmentally-friendly manufacturing process, excellent labor practices, performance to the Core Commitments, etc.)
  4. Third-party certifications related to positive social and/or environmental performance (B Corp certification, Bird Friendly, etc.)
  5. Local suppliers should be given preference (within 250 miles of Factory)
  6. Suppliers owned by underrepresented populations should be given preference

Jessica Sheridan, Director of Coffee 

SUPPLIER LIST:
Aeropress
Ally Coffee
Alto Cold Brew
Amazon Business
American Solutions for Business
Ascentives
Atlas Coffee
AUI Fine Foods
Badger Distributing of Milwaukee LLC
Bodum USA
Boelter Companies
Britevision Media
BUNN
Cafe Imports
Caravela Coffee
Carmo Coffee
Champaign Coffee Company
Chemex Corporation
Clover Distribution
Complete Office of WIsconsin
Component Design
DWC Specialties
Economy Lamp Co
Englehardt Dairy
Espresso Parts
Evolve Snacking
Exclusive Coffees
FETCO
Flair Flexible Packaging Corp
Genuine Origin Coffee
Good Land Supply Co
Gordon Food Service
Grandstand
Gravity Marketing
Great American Spice Company
Greco & Sons
Green Bay Packaging
Halo Soap LLC
InterAmerican Coffee
Kallas Honey Farm
La Marzocco USA
Long Miles Coffee Int Ltd
Magellan Promotions, LLC
Marich Confectionery
Meadowlark Organics
Milwaukee Candle Company
Natures Flavors
NKG (Neumann Kaffee Gruppe)
notNuetral
Occhetti Foods
Olam Specialty Coffee
Omanhene Cocoa Bean Co.
Online Labels
Orchard Street Press
PBFY Flexible Packaging
Plant Guru
Polaris Specialty Coffee
Premium Water
Rishi Tea
Rockline
Royal Coffee
San Miguel Single Origin Coffees (Green Power Trade Inc.)
Sassy Cow Creamery
Shared Source Coffee
Sleeve A Message
Spice House
Sysco East Wisconsin
Tapped Maple Syrup
Terra Spice
The Chai Company
The Chef's Warehouse
Tony Machi Fruits & Vegetables
Uline
UNFI
V. Marchese
Valley Bakers
Volcafe
 
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ANNUAL BENEFIT REPORT 
Fiscal Year 2020
1/1/20-12/31/20
  Benefit Director - Eric Resch

Owners (owning >= 5% of the shares of the benefit corporation): Melissa Perez, Eric Resch

Letter from Benefit Director

Social obligation is a founding principle of Stone Creek Coffee and acts as an ethos for our business. With this obligation comes responsibilities and commitments. At Stone Creek Coffee, we are committed to keeping those commitments. In line with this, this past year, we became a benefit corporation with the state of Wisconsin by amending our articles of incorporation in order to further promote and uphold this commitment. 

As a benefit corporation, we are required to share a Benefit Report at the end of each fiscal year that outlines the work we have done, as well as any potential drawbacks or challenges we have faced, to work towards the specific benefits we have committed to serve. Though 2020 was full of challenges as we all lived and worked through an unprecedented time, we are humbled by the progress we made and continue to make towards creating benefit for our community, the environment, and beyond. We are profoundly moved by the continued work and assistance of our stakeholders to achieve these goals, as well as to create new ones. We look forward to the work that lies ahead of us in 2021. Together, we are better.

On we Go.

- Eric Resch, Benefit Director, Managing Director and Co-owner

Introduction
Stone Creek Coffee officially became a benefit corporation with the State of Wisconsin on June 5th, 2020. A benefit corporation is a legal entity that formally commits to serving general and specific benefit(s) to the public and the environment by writing social and environmental values into their articles of incorporation. At the end of each fiscal year, benefit corporations publish an annual report that outlines what they have done to serve these benefits, as well as any challenges we have faced in the course of doing so.

Specific Benefit Purposes in Our Bylaws

The purposes for which Stone Creek Coffee’s benefit corporation are formed are as follows:
  1. To create a general public benefit.
  2. To create the specific public benefits of: 
    1. Providing individuals or communities with beneficial products or services.
    2. Preserving the environment.
  3. To do any and all other lawful activities or business permitted under the laws of the United States, Wisconsin, or any other state, territory, or nation.
    
Major accomplishments:
  1. Became a benefit corporation with the State of Wisconsin.
  2. Officially kicked off our ‘Brewing Change’ initiative, which speaks directly to our commitments to provide stakeholders with beneficial products or services and to preserve the environment. 
  3. Implemented formal policies across the company that benefit our stakeholders (employees, customers, suppliers, community) and the environment. These policies are listed more specifically in the section, Stone Creek Coffee’s Efforts to Create Public Benefit.
  4. Completed the B Impact Assessment as our third-party standard to assess our performance to our commitments, as well as to guide our work. The B Impact Assessment is a free, comprehensive, and transparent tool for assessing overall corporate social and environmental performance. 
     
Challenges:
By and large, the COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge for us as a company and as individuals. However, rather than allowing the pandemic to become a hindrance to our mission to create benefit, we used this difficult time as an opportunity to pivot our business, as well as take on more projects that seek to benefit our stakeholders, the community, and the environment, which is clearly outlined in the following sections. 

Stone Creek Coffee’s Efforts to Create Public Benefit:

Governance
We updated our Articles of Incorporation with the State of WI and officially became a benefit corporation. Being a Benefit Corporation formally demonstrates our commitment to the public and the environment.
 
Workers
  1. Drafted and shared formal SCC Breastfeeding Policy to support lactating employees across teams, no matter their position, location, or employment status. (Officially added to the Employee Handbook in 2021.)
  2. Maintained insurance costs for hourly employees, keeping in line with our commitment to make healthcare accessible for our employees.
  3. Formed our Employee Council. This group consists of one representative from each of our cafes, bakery, and production teams at Stone Creek Coffee. This representative is nominated by their team to meet with Eric, Managing Director and Co-Owner, every other month to discuss items that can be improved within their work spaces or the company as a whole as it relates to day-to-day operations. Specific work items generated through the Employee Council include but are not limited to: requesting mental health days as an added benefit, exploring expression of personalities through more flexible dress code and music choice in work spaces, updating shift drink benefits to include non-dairy products, increasing our vegan and gluten-friendly food menu, greater access to coffee equipment for cafe teams, such as a third espresso grinder, improvements to employee training and access to online HR and benefits tools, and added opportunities to celebrate employees, such as on their birthday.
  4. Employees paid in full during COVID-19 shutdown in order to guarantee wage security. 
  5. Social Justice Donation Matching: Over the course of Summer of 2020 and in line with Stone Creek Coffee’s social obligation to our community, all employee donations made to social justice organizations were matched by Stone Creek Coffee. Employees were encouraged to make donations to local social justice organizations making change in our community such as Wisconsin Voices and MKE LGBT Community Center.  Over the course of the summer, 21 employees donated $5,077.46 to different social justice organizations across Milwaukee and the US that were matched by Stone Creek Coffee. Together, with our employees, we have donated $10,154.92.
  6. Increased amount of paid sick time for all employees (16 hours/year)
     
Community 
  1. Donated food and beverage items to employees during COVID-19 shut-down.
  2. Supplier Screening Topics implemented across the company. This premade list of screening topics serves to better screen our potential suppliers to ensure that they do things such as: follow all laws, possess good governance practices, gives preference to local suppliers, and more.
  3. Supplier Code of Conduct implemented across the company. This document outlines how we expect our partners and suppliers to conduct themselves and their business in an ethical, legal, and socially responsible manner including, but not limited to, their commitment to the environment, their employees, and the community. 
  4. We made a formal commitment to our local community and hiring. In doing so, we have committed to serving our local community by making a commitment to serve local customers, hire locally, and choose local suppliers when possible.
  5. We made available a list of our significant suppliers on our website.

Environment
  1. We began monitoring and recording our energy use via a master spreadsheet.
  2. We began monitoring and recording our waste production via a master spreadsheet.
  3. We made the switch to renewable, wind-powered electrical energy at all of our facilities. 
  4. We implemented a Hazardous Waste Disposal Policy across the company.
  5. We implemented an Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy. 
  6. We implemented a Travel Policy Addendum which limits corporate travel.
  7. We made a formal policy statement about our commitment to the environment.

Customers
  1. COVID-19 Shut-down Donations: To keep all of our employees and customers safe, we shut down our cafes in mid-March due to the spread of Coronavirus. Since we weren’t going to be serving customers and our cafes held perishable products, we donated them to local food pantries and shelters around Milwaukee and Lake Country. Donations included hundreds of gallons of milk, fresh bakery items, bottled beverages, and more.
  2. Social Justice Donations: In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement happening across our country and the tragic murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other innocent people around our country, Stone Creek Coffee donated $2,000 to the Equal Justice Initiative and Radio Milwaukee and their ‘Community Stories’ initiative to help them tell our history.
  3. 10,000 Thank You’s for Teachers and Staff: The 2020 school year looked different for many of us. We understand the challenges that regularly come with teaching, but 2020 came along with more barriers to overcome. To show our appreciation for those members of our community, we committed to make this donation. By the end of 2020, we donated 5,724 pounds, although this project is continuing into 2021 until it is seen through completion. As of March 4th, 2021, we have donated 6,726lbs. 
  4. 1,000 Pounds of Coffee: Stone Creek Coffee partnered with local food banks in March and April 2020 to donate 1,000 pounds of coffee to those in need in our community. In addition, Stone Creek Coffee highlighted community resources and food banks on our social media platforms to spread awareness of assistance available to those in need and to potential volunteers that were willing to help out. 1,000 pounds of coffee was donated to five Milwaukee area food banks including Hunger Task Force and UW-Milwaukee Food Center and Pantry.
  5. Neighbor Loaves: Stone Creek Coffee utilized its unused oven time and our many talented bakers to give back to our community via the Neighbor Loaves program. By purchasing Neighbor Loaves, freshly baked bread was donated directly to the Riverwest Food Pantry. We partnered with the Artisan Grain Collaborative, Meadowlark Organics, and Lonesome Stone Milling to make this program happen. We sold, baked, and donated 711 loaves of bread for the Riverwest Food Pantry. In 2021, we are continuing and expanding this project to a “Buy a Loaf, Give a Loaf” program in our cafes.
  6. Community Fridge Milwaukee: Stone Creek believes that a cup of coffee has the power to heal. In this spirit, we are now supporting the Milwaukee Community Fridge. Each month, a donation of 30, 2.25oz fractional packs of coffee is donated to the Community Fridge. This is an ongoing project.
  7. Community Coffee Donation Boxes: Stone Creek Coffee takes pride in supporting organizations that make our community a better place to live, work, and play. Our goal is to extend deeper within communities in which we operate, by partnering with and supporting organizations that share our values and goals. Stone Creek Coffee offers donations of brewed coffee and gift boxes for raffles. We do not make cash donations unless we are closely involved with an organization. Groups that take priority are non-profit 501c3 organizations, local schools, youth organizations, and businesses we regularly work with. Stone Creek donates a minimum of 9 gift boxes (valued at $40) each month. 
  8. Bake the Vote: Bake the Vote is an international bake sale effort under the Bakers Against Racism banner to raise money for organizations working for fair elections. Our Bakery team made and donated pastries to this citywide bake sale, and proceeds from the sale were donated to Wisconsin Voices, an organization “supporting creative ways to mobilize and empower people across the state.” Our Bakery team made 100 fruit galettes that were donated.
  9. Love your Parks: To support Milwaukee County Parks and their ‘Love Your Parks’ campaign, Stone Creek Coffee teamed up with our friends at Milwaukee County Parks to create a half pound bag of coffee called Love Your Parks. $2 of every purchase of this short run coffee was donated to Milwaukee County Parks. We sold 1,706 bags of Love Your Parks and were able to donate $3,413 to the Milwaukee Parks Department as part of this Brewing Change collaboration. Our goal was to sell 500 bags of Love Your Parks coffee and donate over $1,000 to our County Park system, but with our customers’ support, we surpassed that goal. 
  10. Rally for Ally: For each half-pound of the short-run coffee Rally for Ally sold, Stone Creek would make a donation to the Alyssa Anna Pape Endowment Fund. We were able to donate $956 to this fund, which helps support the Herma Heart Institute at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.
  11. Participated in Dressember: Human trafficking is a global problem, which doesn’t exclude Milwaukee. Dressember is now a global event where you commit to wearing a dress or tie everyday in the month of December. For every pound of coffee sold on December 4th, 2020, Stone Creek donated $1. In total, we raised awareness for human trafficking as well as donated $397 to the Dressember movement.
     
We look forward to continuing to benefit those around us in 2021! 
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