Here is another article I wrote in the OUR TOWN MARCH 2017 – GREEN edition. (https://issuu.com/ourtownmag/docs/otm_mar2017_green_web) This is an article about a VERY unique, non-profit bakery that hires only special needs adults.

Special Kneads & Treats bakery offers employment to adults with special needs

By Heidi Campbell

“Everyone kneads to be kneaded.” Those words are stenciled across the wall inside Lawrenceville’s most important and inspiring bakery: Special Kneads and Treats bakery. Numerous magazines, newspapers, and even the Today Show told of the January 2014 opening of this unique, delicious eatery. The non-profit bakery, opened by Michael and Tempa Kohler, was their vision for not only helping the less fortunate, but also securing job opportunities for special needs adults. “Our twenty-seven year old son has special needs,” explains Tempa. “He has Fragile X Syndrome, so we moved to Gwinnett County for their great schools. After he graduated from Grayson High School, he completed his four years in the Strive program, and then there was nothing. There are so few job opportunities for these special adults, and so we decided we’d open this bakery and he could work there!”

While hiring adult special needs employees is their business model, the heart of the Special Knead’s mission  is to provide a birthday cake for any child in the area who wouldn’t otherwise have one. They provide gift certificates to numerous local food banks, as well as organizations including Rainbow Village, DEFACS, Uniting Hope for Children, Bethany Christian Services, C.C. Services, Wishes for Me Foundation, and, most recently, the Partnership Against Domestic Violence. The organizations then give the gift certificates to clients who call the bakery, with twenty-four hour notice, to order their birthday cakes. They receive a 9×13 sheet cake with their choice of four different designs.

The bakery’s donations don’t stop with the birthday cakes, however. They reach out to as many charitable organizations as their donation intake allows. They recently donated four hundred cupcakes to the Village of Hope, which is a non-profit organization that helps the homeless in Lawrenceville.  They also donate cupcakes to several events honoring veterans, they donate to Night to Shine, which is the Special Needs Prom program that Tim Tebow developed, and they donate to Gwinnett County’s  sherriff, police, and fire departments.

The shop features a delectable selection of cakes, cheesecakes, cupcakes, cookies, and “choc-corn”. Their cupcake selection includes twenty-six heavenly flavors, including salted caramel, Mississippi Mud, and German chocolate, with options for vegan, gluten free, and sugar-free dietary needs. They have eight flavors which they change out monthly. This month, they featured a “New Year’s Resolution” cupcake for those watching their calories. One regular customer, Justin, a special needs adult who works at Kroger, helps them create new cupcake ideas. His sixth and most recent idea, the Peppermint Bark Cupcake, is currently in the mix, and it features a vanilla cupcake with a mint chocolate ganache center, topped with white chocolate cream cheese icing and red and white chocolate shavings on top.

The “choc-corn”, available in small, large, and even a $100 bag, may be their most unique and popular item. People rarely leave without a bag of the white chocolate coated corn puffs. “We had a customer who was here from out of town,” recalls Tempa. “He tried our choc-corn and loved it so much that he went and bought a suitcase so he could bring home twenty bags!”

The bakery employs twelve special needs adults, ages twenty-two and up, who begin as volunteers.  They also welcome seven volunteers who come in to help out with the large special orders. According to Tempa, they have a waiting list of 130 special needs adults who would like to secure a job at the bakery. “We are actually in the process of opening a new, larger location,” shares Tempa. “This will be off of Scenic Highway, and we plan to move in by the end of April. Once we have more space, we hope to really work down that list of 130 special needs adults looking for work.”

The bakery’s employees do all sorts of jobs in the shop, with the exception of using the ovens. They fold boxes, greet and help customers, attach date stickers to liners, decorate cakes, sweep, bag choc-corn, and chop pecans. “To see the expression on their faces when they do something they’ve never done before is amazing,” beams Tempa. “They are so proud of what they can do. One of our employees, Scott, who uses a walker, was 52 years old when he started working here. He’s now 54 and lives with his parents.  When he got his first paycheck, he was so excited that he cashed it and took his dad out to lunch.”

This bakery truly has it all: heart, a higher purpose, and delicious sweets. The bakery is equipped to handle all orders large and small. Along with normal cake orders, they also do multi-tiered wedding cakes and have successfully filled numerous large orders; the Pigs and Peaches BBQ event in Kennesaw ordered 1,000 cupcakes. “The adults who work here are amazing employees. They take pride in what they do, they are always on time, and they love their paychecks!” explains Tempa. “We need to educate the public that these adults can do so many jobs- all they need is a chance.”

Visit http://specialkneadsandtreats.com/index.html to learn more about this special bakery or to donate to their worthy cause.

 

Here is an article about some of my favorite books!  I wrote this for the March 2017 issue of OUR TOWN -Blue edition .(https://issuu.com/ourtownmag/docs/otm_mar2017_blue_web?reader3=1)

Top 5 novels to escape into on a chilly winter afternoon

By Heidi Campbell

Book enthusiasts love to curl up on the couch, layered in fuzzy blankets, and disappear into the lives of intriguing characters and fictional plots. Although the spindly fingers of social media threaten to ravage pleasure reading, there are still hoards of people who will never give up on the world of fiction and reading for pleasure. Book clubs still thrive in our communities and authors continue to sell millions of books.  As a true book nerd, book club member, and 23-year, veteran High School English teacher, I find inner peace and relaxation in the pages of a good book. A good book has great power, for a reader comes away from the pages a changed person. My grandmother used to say, “Oatmeal is good for you! It sticks to your ribs.” A good book, then, is like oatmeal.  Here is a list of my top five contemporary novels to enjoy as the winter months persist. Every one of these books will stick with me forever.

1. A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry, is, hands down, my all-time favorite novel, and one that I’ve gifted and had two different book clubs read. Set in India in 1975, it is 603 pages of literary genius. The character development and realism found on these pages has been compared by most critics to that of Charles Dickens. The story of Om, Ishwar, Maneck and Dina is one that defines the caste system and its harsh permanence, while shining a fleeting light on a developing friendship, one which rises above the societal standard. The writing is real- and it is not for those seeking a happy ending. This is one that makes a reader truly grateful for freedom, safety,  and the pursuit of dreams; and heartbroken for injustice, hatred, and poverty the likes of which most Americans will never understand.
2. The State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett, is the perfect title for this imagery-filled, brilliant novel in which readers are wholly struck by wonder until the last page. Scenes from this novel are unforgettable- including a terrifying battle with an anaconda and a fertility ritual involving the Lakashi women and a “special” tree. Set deep in the forests of the Amazon, the story blends the demands of the pharmaceutical world with the passion for science and discovery. With suspenseful twists and turns, deadly insects and snakes, and a culture of cannibalism and mystique, the story is at once shocking, thought-provoking, and heart breaking.
3. The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philip Sendker is a story that manages to make even the most skeptical reader believe in a bit of kismet. The storytelling in this novel, as well in its sequel, A Well Tempered Heart, are reminiscent of Hans Christian Anderson classics that have captured readers for centuries. The story begins with the disappearance of a top-notch New York lawyer. When his daughter, Julia, uncovers a hidden letter from his past, she sets out on a journey to find him in Southeast Asia. U Ba, an endearing elderly Burmese man, weaves a backstory of loss, love, survival, human connection, and passion that astounds both Julia and the reader.  This is a mesmerizing story that can be read over and over.
4. The Lonely Polygamist, by Brady Udall, is an engaging novel which I mistakenly read as a memoir and only realized near the end that it was fiction. Readers should be warned that this is a wild, often unsavory ride. Udall’s style refuses to sugar coat anything, which is also clear from another of his novels: The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint. The main character, Golden, is a tormented, worn-out polygamist who must juggle four wives, twenty-eight children, a girlfriend, religion, and his career. With a mix of both humor and heartbreak, Udall reveals human weakness and triumph in just over 600 remarkable pages.
5. The Orphan Master’s Son, by Adam Johnson, was the 2013 Pulitzer Prize winner for Fiction, and there is no doubt that it was deserving of such an honor. The book is set in North Korea, a land that most Americans know very little about. The story, rich in realism and imagery, takes the reader on a journey with Jun Do, a man who will do unthinkable things to survive. The reader steps into a life governed by unfairness, where humans lack humanity and people live in perpetual fear; certainly not a sought-after existence. The insight into a country of such governance is both terrifying and insightful. This is a very tough, traumatic, yet important read.

 

Look for additional Top 5 Book Recommendations in future issues of Our Town, including “Top 5 Authors”, “Top 5 Memoirs”, “Top 5 Humor” and more.