This guest post is by Kris Smith, Bakery Associate at Special Kneads and Treats, Inc. Kris is applying for our Supporting Small Businesses That Hire People With Disabilities Grant Opportunity ran by my nonprofit KFM Making A Difference. You can learn more about the grant opportunity here.
I hope you can support my nonprofit like I’m trying to support our community. I also produce educational videos to celebrate neurodiversity by spotlighting individuals impacted by a diagnosis. Learn more on how you can help our cause with a small donation (just asking for $3 today, equal to your daily cup of coffee) here.
My name is Kris Smith, I work for Special Kneads and Treats, Inc. a 501c3 nonprofit with a mission to provide cakes for children whose families cannot afford a birthday cake through a program called Cakes for Kiddos, working through foster care, DFCS, local co-ops, and shelters. Our mission also provides jobs for adults with special needs and other disabilities. We opened our doors in January of 2014 and immediately discovered the need for jobs in our community for special needs adults to be much greater than previously imagined. Of the 314 who have expressed interest in working at our humble bakery, we have been able to employ 30 special needs individuals, with 21 currently on our payroll.
That is less than 10 percent of our waiting list, with many on the list for several years. With the grant offered, we hope to bring in as many new employees out of the current 111 that we can. When I was asked by our Co-Founder, Michael Kohler, to write this essay, I jumped at the chance. There have been so many of my coworkers who have benefitted from having a job with Special Kneads and Treats. I have been employed with our non-profit for 5 years, working register and retail, and would like to share a few of our success stories that I have seen in that time. When Ian started 5 years ago, he was very anti-social. He would not speak to people, would barely make eye contact. Since that time he has opened up to people around him, he makes jokes, and even gave a speech at an event! Ian recently moved on to a new, more corporate, job.
We could not be more proud of him. Similar to Ian, we have Monique. She was mostly non-verbal when she started, and now she has learned to work with others, and even seeks people out to say goodbye at the end of her shift. Bradley used to tell me that he couldn’t do anything and now does simple tasks on his own without being prompted. Recently we hired Leah, she is blind and is assisted by a guide dog. It has been truly inspiring watching our special needs staff work at making things easier for her to do her job. I look forward to seeing what new skills she will learn. This past year, one of our oldest and longest employed individuals passed away due to medical complications. Scotty was over 50 years old when he was hired by Special Kneads and Treats.
It was his very first paid job. He spent three hours helping with the bakery laundry and was so proud that he could earn his first-ever paycheck. It gave him the ability to buy lunch for his dad, something he had never been able to do before. We will miss seeing his proud smile as he arrived for his shift. Being able to provide jobs for people with disabilities helps those people feel needed, and gives a sense of self-worth and pride that many take for granted. As well as giving people a way of belonging in their community. There are many who do not face these sorts of challenges, that do not realize what a large need this is for people in a community, or what they can do to help. I am glad National Disability Employment Awareness Month can help our society realize what they can do to help and that even a small job can mean everything for someone else. Thank you for all that you do and have done to help people with special needs and disabilities find a better way of life. Special Kneads and Treats, Inc., will continue our mission, and it is my hope that you will consider us for this grant so that it will enable us to do so much more for so many.
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Kerry Magro, a professional speaker and best-selling author who is also on the autism spectrum started the nonprofit KFM Making a Difference in 2011 to help students with autism receive scholarship aid to pursue a post-secondary education.
Have Kerry, one of the only professionally accredited speakers on the spectrum in the country, speak at your next event by sending him an inquiry here. If you have a referral for someone who many want him to speak please reach out as well! Kerry speaks with schools, businesses, government agencies, colleges, nonprofit organizations, parent groups and other special events on topics ranging from employment, how to succeed in college with a learning disability, internal communication, living with autism, bullying prevention, social media best practices, innovation, presentation best practices and much more!
