EAST TROY — Sweet Abilities is a traveling ice cream truck that employs young adults with special needs to teach them valuable workplace skills.
"Anybody with unique abilities deserves to be seen in the community, just like you and I. There's not enough jobs. There's not enough actives for them to do, and they can be active members of every single community," Kristen Corrie, the founder of Sweet Abilities said.
On Wednesdays, you can find the Sweet Abilities trailer hanging out at LD's BBQ in East Troy from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and in End of Leash in Mukwonago from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Otherwise, you can check their Facebook page to see where the crew is headed next.
The goal of Sweet Abilities is to address the lack of employment opportunities for adults with special needs.
This is one of the coolest ice cream trucks I have ever been too 🙌
— James Groh (@JamesGroh_) June 17, 2020
Sweet Abilities is a traveling ice cream truck that hires young adults with special needs to teach them valuable workplace skills. pic.twitter.com/HE4t7n4KmI
"I want them to know that every person has unique abilities and those unique abilities can be put towards being successful in a variety of different situations," Corrie said.
Employees at Sweet Abilities focus on skills they have learned in the classroom and put them into practice at the ice cream stand. They work on money math, talking with customers, and eye contact to name a few.
"We focus on their abilities, not their disabilities," Corrie said.
Corrie used to be a special education teacher for 12 years. She came up with the idea not long ago because she still wanted to contribute to the development of her students. Many of the employees at Sweet Abilities were students of hers at one point.
It all started with a GoFundMe posted on April 29 to raise money to buy the ice cream trailer. About a month later the trailer was operational and they could start serving ice cream.
The desert comes from Purple Door in Milwaukee. It's all pre-packed ice cream scoops or sandwiches.
While Sweet Abilities is able to sell ice cream, they are still trying to reach their fundraising goal. You can donate by clicking on this link.
Corrie hopes that this inspires other businesses to reconsider who they hire when looking for new employees.
"Just give everybody a chance," she said.
