Raising Awareness on Deaf Community at Starbucks Signing Store

So yours truly and her mini me was over at Starbucks Bangsar Village II where we got to learn a new language... Sign Language...

Starbucks, in partnership with the Society of Interpreters for the Deaf (SID) has developed the Outreach Community Program to both enhance theDeaf livelihood as well as to enrich customers like you and me through a series of free workshops which will be held throughout the year at the Starbucks Signing Store here..

There are currently 3 types of workshops within the program, which are the Personal and Professional Development Workshop, the Deaf Empowerment and Awareness for Youth workshop and the Signing Workshop which benefits about 840 people in Malaysia every year...

These workshops are made in the hope of helping the Deaf community to develop their soft skills so that they can gain employment and at the same time provide free Sign Language Classes to the public so that customers can learn to communicate with the deaf and have a better understanding of deaf culture...

So yours truly and her not so mini me was over for one of these workshops wher we learnt common sign language such as alphabets, numbers, everyday expressions, actions, peiole and relationship, food and beverage and so on...

The workshops were plenty of fun and my daughter was so proud of herself when she managed to successfully order her favorite Starbucks drink from the Deaf barista after the class by just using her basic sign language and without saying a word...

Starbucks Signing Store is one such store that empowers the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community with the opportuniry of equal rights and access to information and communication...

The Starbucks Deaf partners are given conventional retail training and also able to further their coffee passion and knowledge through the Coffee Master certification program... Once these Deaf partners are certified as a coffee masters, they are honored with a black apron that features special embroidery with "Starbucks" in Malaysian Sign Language.. it also enhances the Deaf partners career track...

In August 2018 itself, Starbucks Malaysia has certified eight (8) Deaf coffee masters in Malaysia and aside from being the first Starbucks Signing Store in the world, it is also the first Signing Store that houses 100% certified coffee masters...

There is something different though in the Starbucks Signing Store which you can never get anywhere else...

I personally feel, along with many others who have been to the Starbucks Signing Store more personalised, and warmth as there are more friendly interaction over the counter as well as smiles..

Because when you go to order your drink, instead of the usual greeting and baristas monotously calling out beverage orders... you can place orders using the simple menu card which you can mark before passing to the barista and the Deaf partners use handwritten notes to communicate with customers... or you can just order it by signing what you like.. if you can.. like me and my daughter and then spell your name in the Malaysian Sign Language alphabets.. hehehe...

Your order is then given a number which you can pick up once its shown on the screen...

So there.. lets join one of these signing workshops... I can assure you its plenty of fun and giggles... email wonder@sid.org.my to sign up or head to www.starbucks.com.my for more deets...