Collette Divitto is a young woman with Down syndrome who can make a mean cookie. Her friends and family encouraged her to explore her baking talents with a job in a bakery. Unfortunately, every interview that she thought went well would result in nothing, no one wanted her to work for them:
Frustrated and tired of putting herself out there without any measurable results, Miss Divitto began her journey to take the world by cookie. She set up a website and a Facebook page, and since being recently featured by CBS, she has been overwhelmed with the amount of support (and orders!) she has gotten. The information section of her Facebook page gives a short and sweet introduction to her business: “Homemade cookies by Collettey, a young Down syndrome woman who started her company from passion and hopes to grow it and hire people with disabilities.” According to her website, colletteys.com, Collette’s vision is to expand her business significantly and to employ other people who, just like her, have had a difficult time finding a job. “Collette’s latest goal is to land an account in a large market and hire other people with a disability, understanding that 76% are unemployed and so want desperately to have a job, earn money, and be a worthy part of a team.
Now her cookies are being sold in local stores in her area, but she has dreams to make a nation wide chain of her cookies and employ disabled people who were rejected by businesses, just as she was.
Cheers to Collette for having the gumption to work toward her dream job. We wish her all the best.
And today we celebrate...