Mt. Olive gift shop allows disabled to show abilities
Mount Olive, NJ — Finding a job can be difficult for anyone, but for Meghan Price, it seemed an impossible feat.
The Succasunna resident has Down syndrome, and despite her business ethic, willingness to learn and past work experience, she found herself with few options, said the 22-year-old’s mother, Debbie.
Then she found Presents of Mind, a gift store that provides employment and job training to people with disabilities.
“Before she graduated, her whole life was her school, her peers, her teachers,” Debbie Price said. “I was concerned how she would go from being busy all day to nothing. Presents of Mind is perfect. It gives her the opportunity to get up, have a purpose and earn a paycheck, and she just loves it there.”
Presents of Mind, which is located at the Mall at Route 206 in Mount Olive, is part of Community Options, a New Jersey organization providing housing, support services and advocacy to empower people with disabilities.
The store is the latest business to join the six entrepreneurial nonprofit businesses that Community Options operates across the state, where individuals with disabilities learn job skills, gain experience and earn a living wage. The organizations run a flower and gift store, Vaseful, in New Brunswick and three Daily Plan It shops, which are complete office, copy and print centers in Morristown, Moorestown and Princeton where people with disabilities work as receptionists, concierges and members of the maintenance staff.
Community Options provides job coaching to people with disabilities and views the real jobs they provide as a launching pad to future work, according to Chris Dixon, Community Options’ assistant executive director.
“The toughest challenge for people with disabilities often is getting an interview,” Dixon said. “There are a lot of misconceptions about people with disabilities, and many employers think that they cannot do work. We’re giving people the ability to prove they can.”
Presents of Mind sells high-end gifts, teas from India and China, funky glassware, iron wall hangings, pet products and items for children. It has 10 employees, six of whom have developmental disabilities ranging from Down syndrome to traumatic brain injuries. They are responsible for a wide variety of tasks, including preparing tea for customers, stocking shelves, entering inventory in the computer system and keeping the store tidy.
