My BeanZ + Co. journey began years ago as a customer of The New England Pasta Company. I am Ron Perine, Managing Principal + CEO of Mintz + Hoke, a full-service advertising agency in Avon, Conn. When BeanZ + Co. opened with its inclusive mission, everyone at the agency wanted to experience it. Soon enough, BeanZ + Co. became more than a place to get lunch.
Read MoreI am a dermatologist in the Hartford, Conn. area with a large volume practice. We were converting to electronic records in 2015, and with the added work, my staff barely had time to get the next patients to their rooms. I also often heard from patients who had children with IDD about how their kids couldn’t find a job when they finished school. There was an opportunity here.
Read MoreMy BeanZ & Co. journey began many years ago. I have a brother with IDD and an adult son with IDD and mild autism. I recently retired from Pfizer after 30 years as a scientist in its Groton facility. As you might imagine, I’m an inclusion advocate. During my career, I launched a Best Buddies Connecticut Chapter and an inclusive jobs program at Pfizer.
Read MoreWe all have the power to create a more inclusive world. In their TEDxHartford talk, Noelle Alix and Kim Morrison believe it’s time to do so with employment. 80% of individuals with IDD are unemployed. They not only want to work, they can work. And everyone—including businesses—are the better for it when they do work.
Read MoreOur Everyone Belongs editor sat down for an uplifting Q&A with SOCT’s President Beau Doherty. What a pleasure to talk with Beau about the forward motion of SOCT in its mission, motivating athletes to be healthy, fit—and compete. SOCT’s first Virtual Summer Games are June 12 and 13.
Read MoreFor Melissa Gagne, her work to educate parents on special education law and their children’s rights is personal. As the mother of a twenty-three-year-old with severe autism, she has launched a parent education group at BeanZ & Co. to empower parents and cultivate a caring community of support. She shares the evolution of the group and its early positive results.
Read MoreSarah Leathers, Founder and CEO of Healing Meals Community Project, shares in her own words the genesis of her nonprofit in The New England Pasta Company kitchen—and how along with BeanZ & Co., the three organizations are helping create a more compassionate community. Bonus blog content: Sarah Leather’s HartfordTedX talk, “Fueling Our Hearts with Food.”
Read MoreThis month, Kim Morrison, co-founder of The New England Pasta Company and BeanZ & Co. shares how her idea for opening a pasta shop in Avon, Conn., and life experience as the mother of a daughter with Down syndrome, blossomed into BeanZ & Co. and championing the movement of inclusive employment where everyone belongs.
In his post, Scot Morrison, co-founder of The New England Pasta Company and BeanZ & Co. reflects on 25 years at The New England Pasta Company—and the two feelings that surface most for him: Loving what he does—and loving his customers just as much. Yes, for Scott, gathering people around great food matters most.
Read MoreWe’d like to share the gift of an idea with you in this month of giving. It’s an idea at the heart of what we do everyday here at BeanZ & Co. There is a lot of messaging these days about slowing down. For the most part, we believe the sentiments are true. If we rush through life, we’ll miss what matters most. And there is also the truth, that slowing down is tough to do. But what if we slowed down, just one step? What would we see?
Read MoreIf you stop into BeanZ & Co. on Thursday mornings you’ll see a long table filled with veterans from Avon VFW Post 3272. They drink coffee and reminisce, they razz each other and laugh, and they share a life experience that most of us do not. To join the post you have to have served in a combat zone in a foreign war. Theirs is a kinship that is deep, real and sustaining—and you feel it in sitting with them even just for a few moments.
Read MoreOur new executive chef, Abbie Amato, has long been a member of The New England Pasta Company and BeanZ & Co. family and has stepped into the role with both ease and excitement. Our “Everyone Belongs” editor sat down with Abbie to chat about what’s on her new Fall/Winter menu, the energy she brings to the kitchen, and her commitment to personalized customer service.
Read MoreNoelle Alix and Kim Morrison met twenty years ago at a mother’s group for children with Down syndrome, and were instantly friends. That first meeting planted a seed that today has grown into BeanZ & Co., an inclusive coffee café employing individuals with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities—a place where everyone belongs. Watch “The BeanZ & Co. Story” videos by clicking read more below.
Read MoreThe Avon, Conn.-based advertising agency Mintz + Hoke is a long-time and valued catering and lunch customer of The New England Pasta Company (Pasta Co.). Right from the start, the agency supported Pasta Co.’s new venture, the inclusive coffee cafe BeanZ & Co., for its fresh-made and healthy offerings, personalized customer service—and mission of inclusive employment.
Read MoreWhen you stop into BeanZ & Co. you’ll often see Deb Cervas working or reading a book with a cup of tea, or meeting friends for lunch. She’s a regular in the coffee shop and café and the former inclusion specialist at the Simsbury Public Schools. An educator who champions inclusive education for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), Deb along with BeanZ & Co. believes everyone belongs.
Read MoreFinding a first job is tough for young adults. Being a first employer for those with and without IDD is an important part of the BeanZ & Co. mission. “At BeanZ & Co., we aim to be a first stop on a career path – a place to learn skills and cultivate a sense of purpose that our employees will carry with them well beyond our doors,” says Noelle Alix, co-owner, BeanZ & Co. And this visionary approach is changing lives for the better.
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