As part of its Community Connections program, Starbucks Jordan has collaborated with Al-Jude Initiative - Hikmat Road Safety to initiate the renovation of the Hai al-Amawi School for Girls in Ras al Ain area. The renovation campaign took place over a period of three days, beginning on April 17th and lasting until April 19th.

Together Starbucks partners, customers, and students carried out essential repair work in a fun and festive atmosphere. 

Activities included repairing and painting the school's walls, restoring the playground area, installing outdoor play equipment, and performing a final clean-up of the premises. 

"These activities embody the true meaning of collaborative community service," commented Rana Shaheen, Starbucks Regional Communications and CSR manager in the MENA region. 

"We want to instill in the students a sense of responsibility and ownership for their school, which is why all of the work done over the course of the three days was done with volunteers and students working hand in hand. At Starbucks, we believe in joining the communities that we are a part of and making a difference. It has been a great experience working with Al-Jude Initiative - Hikmat Road Safety to affect positive change at the Hai al-Amawi School."

The Community Connections programme is part of Starbucks' long-term efforts to deliver lasting changes to better the communities in which it operates. 

The programme, which aims to promote the spirit of volunteerism and encourage young men and women to create positive change in their communities, was developed over the past four years across nine markets in the Middle East. 

To date, Starbucks partners and volunteers have completed more than 220 projects totaling over 11,000 community service hours. 

"We are pleased to collaborate with Starbucks in our efforts to promote a healthy learning environment for students," commented Arafat Awad, Field Operations Manager at Al-Jude Initiative - Hikmat Road Safety. 

"The quality of the school facilities is a critical part of creating this environment, which ultimately impacts students' academic performance. One of our primary goals was to provide a safe environment for children to play away from the danger of open roads. We were able to accomplish this and many other notable improvements."

Al-Jude Initiative - Hikmat Road Safety is dedicated to providing support and council for governmental and civil society institutions in order to decrease the number of casualties and injuries resulting from traffic accidents. To achieve this goal, the foundation has adopted a number of approaches that include financing, development, and improving the standards of road safety through coordination with relevant parties.

Starbucks has set out to complete an accumulated one million hours of community service by the year 2015 as part of its Shared Planet initiative.