Toro and his Starbucks team are true sign2sing ambassadors, now sharing coffee shop themed BSL tutorials via Wharf magazine.
Toro Manca, store manager of Starbucks Canary Wharf and a level 3 BSL signer himself, began learning sign language 5 years ago after serving Deaf customers in the Westfield Shepherds Bush branch.
“I thought it would be good to be able to interact more easily with Deaf people and I was inspired to learn sign language.”
Having more awareness of the Deaf community, Toro worked alongside RAD to employ two Deaf members of staff. At the same time he discovered sign2sing, introducing it to his branch to bring his staff together.
Starbucks’ involvement with SignHealth has been a fantastic success, with their sign2sing video reaching thousands of people. Thanks to Toro’s work, we have also visited the European Starbucks Headquarters to introduce the life-changing services we provide, and show how the money raised supports Deaf people.
