Starbucks Serving Up Jobs With Its Lattes

Starbucks now has both java and jobs on its menu.

On Monday, CEO Howard Shultz introduced the Create Jobs for USA fund in partnership with Operation Finance Network (OFN), which is a group of private financial institutions that provide affordable loans to low-income people and communities, according to Reuters.

We're going to raise millions of dollars. This is about Americans helping Americans. We're not going to wait for Washington, said Shultz.

The world's largest coffee-shop will begin collecting donations online and at its cafes to spur job creation among community businesses in the U.S.

Donations will be earmarked in an OFN fund and distributed to 180 community-development financial institutions. The main goal is to assist in the funding, growth, and development of small businesses.

Back in August, Shultz called for a boycott of all campaign contributions to either political party until both sides agreed to settle on common, bipartisan ground. At the time, Congressional members were at odds over how to approach the economic problems. This issue remains to this day as markets remain volatile and unemployment stagnates at 9.1 percent.

He sees the painful economic crisis Americans toil in today and how vital job creation is not only for the entire nation, but for the greater global community as well.

He vowed: Our companies are going to hire. We are going to accelerate growth, employment, and investment in jobs.

Starbucks will donate $5 million to start the fund.

The Create Jobs for USA website will track the amount raised and project the number of jobs that have been created.

Donors who give $5 or more will receive a red, white and blue wristband with the word indivisible, Starbucks said.

There are more than 10,900 Starbucks across the nation, with a total of 6,800 collecting money on-site.

Schultz understands what it is like to pull yourself up from your bootstraps to grab the American Dream. He grew up in a housing project in Brooklyn, NY in the 1960s. He was the son of an ex-US Army trooper turned truck driver father and homemaker mother. One day, after a trip to Italy, he had the ingenius idea to create a chain of coffee-shops in America. The rest is history.

Nowadays, Schultz is not only focused on the growth of his international corporation, but also on helping the American people.