10 Florida businesses that employ disabled adults
Here is a not-so-little secret that many managers and business owners know: Hiring a person with a disability is a two-way street that benefits both parties.
That’s because employing a person with a disability can provide them with the skills and experience they need to fulfill their potential. But it can also be a great asset for the company. Living with a disability often means facing daily challenges that require creative problem-solving, and these skills are transferable to the workplace, resulting in a win-win for all.
Here are 10 companies — some are local, others are statewide — that welcome the unique contributions of all people, in the spirit of inclusivity and equality.
Blossom
If you’d like to buy products with a heart from a company that truly helps its community, then this is the company for you.
The idea was sparked in 1962 by a group of concerned parents seeking to ensure work opportunities for their children with developmental disabilities.
Today, Blossom, a social venture created by Quest, Inc., produces all-natural artisanal products like soaps, wax candles, and bath teas, while providing meaningful employment and skills for adults and teenagers with developmental disabilities.
But what is truly exciting for the company’s workers, is that its team of artisans is responsible for each phase of the business, from crafting each of the soaps, candles, and bath teas by hand, to packaging, shipping, and sales.
Best of all, all of the Orlando-based company’s proceeds go to providing jobs and services to people with disabilities.
To learn more, click here.
Lee & Marie’s Cakery Company
Located at 40 South Pointe Drive on South Miami Beach, this charming bakery/cafe hybrid — or “cakery” — serves delicious baked goods, sandwiches, and salads, and is home to what are arguably the best cupcakes in Miami.
All this, in a charming indoor/outdoor setting equipped with antique porcelain and a shared rustic wooden table.
The brainchild of owner Andrea “Andy” Travaglia, a public entrepreneur and philanthropist, Lee & Marie’s Cakery Company provides support and employment to adults with Autism Selection Malfunction. In conjunction with the College of Miami/Nova Southeastern University’s Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, Lee & Marie’s helps to guide people on a path to greater independence and an enhanced quality of life.
To learn more, call (305) 672-5167.
Goodwill
Goodwill South Florida is more than a chain of stores where one can find great bargains. That’s because the company believes that disabilities should not limit a person’s dreams, or their desire to accomplish a goal. For this reason, it provides job training to people with disabilities, as well as those who need education or work experience.
But most importantly, the company truly believes that people with disabilities are an asset to the workplace. People like Jessica Trujillo, for example, who worked hard to improve her job performance and, over time, saw her self-independence and social skills improve, helping her achieve personal and professional goals.
In the true spirit of goodwill, the Goodwill stores in South Florida continue to help people with disabilities earn jobs, grow their careers, and achieve greater independence.
To learn more, click here.
Rise Cafe
The founders call it “an inclusion revolution.” And that is exactly right, because Rise Up Cafe — run by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities — provides secure and meaningful jobs that help its employees live independently and feel valued and included by society.
In fact, to “celebrate and honor their special abilities!” is what drives this small cafe in the middle of downtown Sarasota.
So come for the great coffee, yummy ice cream, and delicious food, set in an inspiring environment where you’ll feel right at home. And if you can, stay a while to enjoy the unique opportunity to spend time with the amazing Rise Up Cafe team members.
To learn more, click here.
AMC Theatres
We all know that great movies (often) win Oscars. But did you know there is an even better award, only this one is for the theaters that exhibit them?
That would be the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, which recognizes AMC theaters’ commitment to diversity through employment practices that ensure disability inclusion in the workplace.
Through its FOCUS (Furthering Opportunities, Cultivating Untapped Strengths) program, the theater chain provides individuals with disabilities opportunities for competitive employment, wages, and benefits.
So the next time you go see a superhero movie, take the opportunity to recognize the superheroes right there in the theater who are diligently working to improve lives.
Please contact the theater General Manager for more details. You can also click here.
Beck Automotive Group
Who would have thought that buying a car — even a used one — can actually be an inspiring, even transformative, experience?
If that is the case, it is entirely due to a unique company called Beck Automotive Group.
Located in Palatka, a charming city in Putnam County that was established in 1821, this auto dealership hires and supports people with unique abilities. And these are not just job opportunities. One employee with a disability retired after 40 years on the job!
Beck Automotive Group is the host site for Project Search — a nine-month training program run by the Arc of Putnam County — that teaches people with disabilities the skills they need to be successful in a work environment, allowing interns to obtain competitive employment and gain independence and confidence.
To learn more, click here.
Lighthouse Works, Inc.
Located in Orlando, this company operates several call centers where many of the employees are visually impaired, including those who are blind or have low vision. In fact, 180 of the 428 people employed by Lighthouse Works have some type of disability.
But this has never stopped them from achieving the career success they aspire to. Individuals are regularly promoted from within, with 21 leaders in the organization having some type of disability.
To make the work environment safe and inviting for their workers, the offices offer talking vending machines, high-contrast walls, and tactile maps.
To learn more, click here.
CVS
The goal is simple and straightforward: CVS’ CapAbilities Colleague Resource Group (CRG) is designed to help build a community of colleagues with disabilities and allies within CVS Health.
One of its primary goals is to recognize the need for employees to get to know and support one another across the organization, as well as develop meaningful relationships and strengthen networks. But the main goal is to discover and support people’s strengths.
Like in the case of Celia, who was held back by her speech impediment and her shyness. With the encouragement and direction of her store manager, who saw her potential, today Celia is an Operations Manager at her CVS Pharmacy.
To learn more, click here.
Pinecrest Bakery
This Latin-inspired bakery has individuals with unique abilities employed at its various bakery locations and headquarters in Dade and Monroe counties.
With its pastelitos, loaves of Cuban bread steaming from the oven, and guava-filled cakes, this 24-hour Cuban-American bakery chain in South Florida is committed to bringing family tradition to Miami. But more than that, it is committed to bringing equality and opportunity to the community. And that includes people with disabilities.
Employees have a variety of jobs, from making party trays and sandwiches, to making the bakery’s delicious toast on Cuban bread. But whatever their role, they all feel included in the success of the bakery.
To learn more, click here.
MOD Pizza
Who doesn’t love pizza? In reality, a better question would be: who doesn’t love a pizza place that is fully committed not just to making delicious handmade pizzas with more than 40 toppings, but to promoting a culture of service that benefits the most vulnerable in our communities?
That place would be MOD Pizza, a company that uses its platforms to promote the values and opportunities that help people –regardless of who they are — learn skills and fulfill their potential.
Through the years, MOD pizza has supported community-based causes ranging from mental health awareness to LGBTQ+ inclusivity and, of course, support for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
To learn more, click here.
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