World Down Syndrome Day is Tuesday, and one nonprofit in Ridgefield is “Down To Sparkle.”
That’s the identify of their new popcorn taste. The restricted time deal with from Prospector Popcorn is designed to honor the workers that make the gourmand popcorn, serve it at a Connecticut movie show, and ship it across the nation.
The intention is to assist individuals with disabilities discover inclusive employment.
There may be one factor that makes a visit to the flicks full:
“Popcorn!” Timmy Harman with Prospect Popcorn mentioned.
No person is aware of that higher than Harman.
“Timmy is a grasp popcornista,” Ryan Wenke, The Prospector director of operations and know-how, mentioned.
Harman works on the Prospector Theater in Ridgefield.
“What issues do you do within the kitchen particularly?” Wenke mentioned.
“Bagging,” Harman mentioned.
“Bagging, mixing, proper?” Wenke mentioned.
Not solely can guests to the theatre benefit from the silver display screen, but additionally the gourmand popcorn.
“Flavors like strawberry ice cream, Belgian chocolate, toffee, traditional caramel,” Wenke mentioned.
Now there’s a new taste for World Down Syndrome Day known as Down To Sparkle.
“Pretzels, marshmallows, all the good things right here,” Wenke defined with Harman.
The flavour honors individuals like Harman, and plenty of different staff at The Prospector with down syndrome.
The Prospector employs 125 individuals, and about 75% of them determine as having a incapacity.
“Significant employment for these of us with disabilities is so essential, as a result of we don’t get these alternatives from different employers,” Wenke mentioned.
Wenke says there’s loads of alternative by Prospector Popcorn, which ships to all 50 states.
“There’s so many roles that go into one bag,” Wenke mentioned. “That you must pop the popcorn, you must combine and bake the popcorn. You want a advertising group to advertise the popcorn. We’ve got our manufacturing group that makes the graphics within the entrance of the bag. We’ve got a improvement group.”
Everybody will get paid above minimal wage.
Anybody who buys the popcorn helps The Prospector’s mission of inclusive employment.
“We’re a really gifted untapped workforce,” Wenke mentioned.
Simply over 79% of Individuals with disabilities do not need a job, in line with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Prospector goals to vary that, believing significant employment can enhance psychological, social and monetary wellbeing.
Harman confirmed off his newest paycheck. He says he finds achievement in his profession, not simply from the camaraderie, but additionally due to the independence it provides him.
“We have had many Prospects working right here which have been in a position to transfer out their mother and father’ residence, purchase their first automobile, hire out their first residence,” Wenke mentioned.
All whereas serving the neighborhood. It’s a possibility these at The Prospector consider needs to be the norm.
“It does not should be a popcorn enterprise to undertake this mannequin of significant employment. It could possibly be a backyard, it could possibly be a espresso store,” Wenke mentioned. “We do not wish to be the one participant in Connecticut or on the town doing this. There’s others which are doing it and we love that. However we would like employers to take discover and to undertake our hiring practices to actually pay extra consideration to inclusive hiring.”
The Prospect Theater is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and is a four-screen first-run movie show. Anybody who needs to order Prospect Popcorn can achieve this on-line at prospectorpopcorn.org and help their mission.
Timmy Harman can also be a TikTok star, and his movies are up on The Prospector Theater’s web page.
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