My deepest sympathies to all of the families and friends of those involved in the Connecticut school shootings. I am sure their heartache is more than I can ever know. I don’t think I can write anything here that captures the pain that so many must be going through. I’m not sure there are words for it.
I heard that a Starbucks partner lost her life in the this tragic shooting. A news article reported that a part-time barista at the Mill Plains Road Starbucks in Danbury, Connecticut was among those killed in the school shooting.
The news article about barista Lauren Rousseau, who also worked as a substitute teacher, is here.
According to the Starbucks Partners Facebook page, Starbucks is in contact with Lauren’s family.
Rest in Peace Lauren Rousseau.
23 Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Socialize
Melody thank you for posting this. As everyone else, this awful tragedy has no answers for me. We are not really that far from this town and I have a very close friend that has relatives that live there. I am glad that in memory of this partner the SB where she worked closed for one day. May everyone heal and may we find answers to why this happened.
Melody, thank you for letting our fellow partner’s name be known. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Starbucks community from #13673 in Fairfax, VA, as well as the Newtown families.
I saw her story, or some parts of her story, just this morning. There was no mention in the part that I saw about her being a Sbux partner….not that it matters. Horribly tragic for so many.
If my blog had the functionality, I’d “like” all three comments. My condolences.
Not much that this ol’ man can add.
Events like this have no sensible explanation. I can only hope that rational thought is not an additional casualty of this horrific event.
Personally I believe in Heaven and that children have a very special place in Heaven. I also believe in Hell and that this mass murderer in particular will have a special place in Hell.
Peace, hope, love, grace, and faith.
Thank you for sharing this, Melody~our world becomes smaller and grows closer together as the personal stories of the victims emerge and we feel connected to them….As I read about Lauren, tears streamed down my face because I felt like I was reading about my own daughter….she always celebrated the release of a favorite movie with homemade cupcakes~ I will continue to hold Lauren in my thoughts along with all those who lives were lost so senselessly….
Peace on Earth….Please…
…..I meant to say “celebrates”…as I reread my post, I realize it could have been misconstrued… my daughter is probably making cupcakes today…as Lauren might have been~
Devastating. Partner means family, and not even just partners, but I feel like I have a whole Starbucks family of people I’ve met because of this company (including you!) I take comfort that I know Starbucks will do everything in their power to ease her family’s pain.
@RachelWeech – It is devastating. It’s hard to think about it … senseless, innocent victims. And we’re all connected in someway! I feel like Lauren deserves to be known here. I was glad to realize that Starbucks has already reached out to her family – just comforting how much they care. I didn’t know that when I started this blog article, and then through Twitter, one of my followers let me know that Starbucks is in contact with Lauren’s family.
I heard on the radio this morning a CT lawmaker speak of Lauren as he knew her from Starbucks. Very nice comments. I wish SB would send this info to all the stores as yesterday and this morning partners did not know about this tragic loss in their community of partners.
@purple1- I’m not sure if you’re a partner or not, so if you are, please forgive me to speaking to you as if you’re not. Starbucks company operated stores have an interstore computer system that we call “The Portal”. Anyone from barista up to CEO can log in to the portal. This is where I’d go to do stuff like set up my direct deposit or change my address on file with the company, to where we go place store orders, and also where there are notices/memos posted for all partners to see. When I worked on Friday there was a memo posted about CT and Lauren.
Additionally, the info about Lauren was posted on the Starbucks Partners Facebook page. So, while showing respect and privacy for Lauren’s family, this information has been made readily available. It’s an expectation that every Starbucks partner read the Portal every time they work, so it’s unfortunate that certain people/certain stores aren’t in that practice. My point is, Starbucks DOES their part to keep partners in the loop. It’s up to the individual partner, or at LEAST a store manager to read the portal and then verbally communicate the info.
Rachel I am not a partner but am aware of the lines of commuication available to partners. You are correct that there are weaknesses to any type of communication and each store should review the options available to them. I was glad to let partners know about this and also to share that the Danbury store closed on Sat in memory of this great partner.
@Rachel: that info may have been available to the partners but I can tell you, I talked with several different partners at 2 different stores yesterday (Monday) and none of them knew about Lauren. (I did pull the little blurb about her from a Chicago newspaper and put it on one of the stores community boards, writing on it myself that she was a partner)
Denise R thanks for your comment because it is sad that the lines of communication are such that the customers have to let partners know about the loss of this wonderful partner. Thank you for putting the article on the community bulletin board. I just shared this info with as many partners as I could. It is interesting that not only in my area but in yours as well there are partners that do not know about this.
Sorry: separate topic but:
Melody needs to do her Christmas shopping and she can many things, but not all things, at one time. I vote she do her Christmas shopping and her blog, and most of us, will still be here when she gets back to it (the blog). anyone????
Denise R not sure totally where your request is coming from but of course if Melody needs to take a break from posting articles on her blog she should. I at least will still be here when she returns. Happy holidays and happy new year!
@purple1 – Denise is referring to my Facebook post. Basically, I’ve left my holiday shopping to last minute! Oh no! And, on top of it all, I just don’t have a lot to write about right now. I do post things on the Facebook side of this site that don’t get posted here – For example, when I want to share one picture, or a news story.
Sorry I didn’t make my above comment more clear……I posted about Christmas shopping because I read it from a post by Melody on FB.
@purple1 – Your comments in this thread give me an idea for a blog post – how to keep up on Starbucks news and information. I won’t give it away. 😉
Thank you for posting this. I read the communication that was sent from our DM today but it did not include the specifics that your blog included. Thank you. We will be joining you in wearing the Sandy Hook Elementary School colors tomorrow, on the day of her memorial service. We are all incredibly saddened by this… my heart just aches while my mind still can’t grasp this horror. My thoughts and prayers are with the partners of the Mill Plains Road store. Please keep us updated with any way your fellow partners can be of help or support to you.
@SaraD – You’re welcome. Thank you for the great comment. I saw in my twitter stream some comments that in some areas near her, partners are all wearing white and green in honor of her tomorrow. I don’t think I’ll see that in Seattle, but I think anything in remembrance is beautiful.
@Melody- I completely agree. The love and support we all have for eachother is one of the main reasons why I will always love this company, even if I should ever move on to a new chapter, Starbucks will always be my 3rd Place 🙂 Love to you and your partners in Seattle (here in O’Fallon IL)
http://www.hartfordmarathon.com/Events/Sandy_Hook_Run_for_the_Families.htm
I am a partner that worked with Lauren, please consider joining this event on March 23, you can sign up as a virtual runner and show your support for her, for all the families dealing with loss and all of the partners still mourning.