Since our inception, Mount Jubilee Ministries has had a strong desire to provide meaningful work opportunities for our friends with special needs. Over the years, we have studied and researched programs all across the nation to find the best fit for our program, and we believe we have found it.
MJM is extremely happy to announce that we have entered into a four-year mentorship program with Brookwood of Georgetown (BiG), to replicate their model of social enterprise for our His Path Heroes. Founded in 2011, BiG is fulfilling their journey of establishing a community that affirms the worth and dignity of adults with special needs by providing meaningful jobs for their Citizens. BiG operates 4 days a week providing employment for over 90 adults with disabilities through their many enterprises.
MJM Program Director, Jenna Moore, and Executive Director Cecil Cottrell spent the week of November 6th in Georgetown, Texas visiting BiG’s 3 campuses to learn “How To” be successful with this model. During the week we experienced dozens of very proud friends with special needs fulfilling their dream of “having a job”, enabling them to become contributing members in their community. When we met Darla, she was working in the BiG Pie Factory, baking pies that would soon be sold throughout the community and country. Later on, with a huge smile on her face, Darla shared that BiG provided her with her first job at age 50.
We also had the opportunity to see firsthand the success of BiG’s fudge enterprise. Visual recipes were readily available to assist the Citizens as they carefully weighed out the ingredients and poured them into the fudge kettle. After mixing, pouring, baking and cooling, the Citizens wrapped the fudge for the market. All of these activities were done with active engagement, where each Citizen seemed to derive joy and satisfaction from a job well done.
Another favorite in the BiG community is the production of dog treats. Again, the Citizens would actively participate by mixing the ingredients, rolling the dough, and using cookie cutters to cut out the treats. They would then place the treats neatly on the pan for baking. When done, the treats were packaged for sale.
Candle making, cards, pottery, jewelry, shower steamers, and resin-poured charcuterie boards are other enterprises Citizens are engaged in. Having a variety of products to work on and tasks to perform keeps the operation fresh and lively. At each step, staff supervisors are on hand to assist the Citizens, leading and teaching as needed. All of the products produced, and much more, are sold in their award-winning BiG Gift Shop and through their online store. The sale of their enterprise products makes up one-third of the BiG operating budget. But profits only tell a small part of the story. BiG’s Citizens are involved, working, and productive, which provides them with the inner satisfaction that brings smiles to their faces and through their own efforts, a sense of accomplishment and worth.
The Mount Jubilee Ministries’ Social Enterprise Committee and our staff are committed to replicating these enterprises and incorporating them in our His Path programs. Nothing is more important than to offer meaningful job opportunities to those who are so often overlooked. We look forward to the day when our very own Heroes can create from the work of their own hands–and in so doing, rise to an even greater sense of self-worth as they utilize their God-given gifts. You can help make this dream a reality! MJM will soon be launching a fundraising campaign so all can be a part of this new endeavor.