The Container Store is proud to announce its partnership with Paul Quinn College (PQC), the oldest Historically Black College west of the Mississippi River and the nation's first Urban Work College. Through its Work Program, corporate partners provide students with paid, real-world work experience while completing their bachelor's degree with minimum to no debt.
This February, The Container Store officially became one of the Corporate Work Program partners and have placed a PQC student in a coordinator role reporting into the Human Resources Department. "The partnership with Paul Quinn and its Work Program provides another way for us to attract top talent while supporting the communities we operate in," said John Marazio, our EVP of Human Resources. "I look forward to seeing the impact of this experience on the student and the broader Corporate Works Program."
In addition to becoming a Corporate Work Program Partner, we have worked with the college to identify ways to support its expansion and campus improvement efforts. One of the ways of doing this was sponsoring its new campus retail store, the We Over Me Shop, by installing a custom Elfa system complete with shelves, drawers, cabinets, and a work space. This allows the shop to display the apparel, accessories, and home goods they plan to sell.
Left to right: LaTisha Brandon (Senior Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), Marquise Nelson (PQC student and The Container Store DE&I Coordinator), and Camille Ehlers (Associate Director of the Corporate Work Program at PQC) at the We Over Me Shop ribbon cutting ceremony.
Because the retail store is a new addition for the campus, we had a blank canvas to work with, which allowed our design team, installers, in-home organizers, and a host of volunteers from our Dallas Galleria store and support center to complete the transformation in less than two weeks. "The collaboration on this project has been a fantastic experience for our In-Home Organizing and installation teams," said Justin Beesinger, Director of In-Home Organizing. "Thank you, everyone, for the hard work making this venture a success."
On February 14, our CEO Satish Malhotra, along with Dr. Michael Sorrell, President of Paul Quinn College, joined a host of The Container Store's employees, PQC faculty, staff and students for the ribbon cutting and grand opening of the We Over Me Shop by The Container Store.
"This work doesn't happen in a vacuum," President Sorrell said while addressing the crowd during the grand opening. "It takes an entire team and force of people that believe in this and work together to make a vision become a reality. I just want to say thank you to The Container Store and Satish for partnering with our team at Paul Quinn on the Work Program and the retail store."
Check out these photos of the transformation and be sure to stop by the store to buy some Quinnite Nation gear!
Before
After
The finished Elfa space includes shelves, freestanding drawers, a work desk (complete with Bungee Office Chair), and plenty of Gladiator storage cabinets.
The Container Store's incredible team, led by CEO Satish Malhotra (far right).
Thank you to all of The Container Store employees who helped make this possible!
Learn more about Paul Quinn College's important mission here.
