When they first met in junior high school, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield didn't know that they would change the course of business history. They not only set a new standard for premium ice cream, but they also established a new standard for the way that companies relate to their communities.

These two classic entrepreneurs first aligned themselves because as Cohen says, "We were the two slowest, fattest kids in our class." Other than their physique, the two gentlemen shared a fundamental belief that "as you help others, you are helped in return."

Introducing the Golden Rule to their business helped Ben and Jerry to build one of the nation's premier ice cream manufacturers. The company, which has been sold to Unilever, recently partnered with its local franchisee and Life's Work to open a Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Parlor in Squirrel Hill.

Clients of LifesWork will staff the parlor, and the franchisee will oversee daily operations. The Squirrel Hill shop is one of 14 "partnershops" that Ben & Jerry's has opened across the country. Each is different, but they all use serving ice cream as a means to a positive social outcome.

LifesWork's mission is to assist people with disabilities and others facing significant barriers to employment to find a job and to perform well in that job over time. The partnershop in Squirrel Hill provides a guaranteed source of employment for the individuals whom LifesWork serves and gives the agency another source of revenue beyond government grants and private philanthropy. "We want to help nonprofits to maintain their offering on a self-sustained basis," says Cohen.

"Blending for-profits and nonprofits is a difficult thing," he admits. Despite the difficulty, Ben & Jerry's has mastered the skill of amalgamating disparate cultures. Many nonprofit organizations proactively seek partnershop arrangements with Ben & Jerry's. "They find us. We have a long list of those who are interested in working with us," reports Greenfield. To determine with which nonprofits to partner, he says that Ben & Jerry's examines "the quality of the organization and whether there's a significant amount of business expertise on the board of directors."

Cohen stresses the importance of having business acumen on the nonprofit board in order to ensure that the nonprofit can operate successfully in a for-profit arena. "Business people on the board help to bridge the gap between cultures," explains Cohen.

The partnershop concept emerged from Cohen and Greenfield's staunch commitment to community. Their original intent was to be a community-based store. These roots continue to shape the way that the company does business today.

The partnershop concept evolved over a period of six to eight years. "We were very innovative in coming up with ways that Ben & Jerry's could work to improve the quality of life in the community," states Cohen proudly. Now, other companies are using Ben & Jerry's as a social venture model to emulate.

Ben & Jerry's stands as proof that companies can serve their shareholders and their communities concurrently. Cohen and Greenfield bucked the trends and found creative ways to satisfy shareholders and community stakeholders.

The business world was always saying to me that I had no business being in these things," remarks Cohen. Today, the business world looks to Ben & Jerry's as a source of innovative ideas to expand reach and to attract untraditional workers.

As the Ben & Jerry's empire began to grow, Cohen says, "We wanted to use that force that we had become in positive social ways." This desire was the impetus behind the partnershop concept.

"We think that this model is a great way of meeting social needs," asserts Cohen, who obviously believes that businesses should meet social needs. Contrarians would argue that corporations are in no way responsible for meeting social needs.

"They (these corporations) have a very narrow mission to make money," comments Cohen. Ben & Jerry's simply sees community involvement as a means to this end.