Starbucks Makes Volunteering a Paid Practice

Volunteers aren't paid by definition, but Starbucks is stirring things up a bit. The company has begun paying some employees who spend half the 40-hour work week at Starbucks and the other half at a local nonprofit, reports CNN. When employees are "engaged in communities and they feel connected, they're going to stay with Starbucks longer," says Virginia Tenpenny, CEO of the Starbucks Foundation, which will cover the salaries of the 36 employees in 13 cities over six months with grants from nonprofit volunteering group Points of Light. The 36 were chosen from more than 200 applicants, and Tenpenny says a new batch of employees will be selected next year as long as it proves successful. (More Starbucks stories.)