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THE SJ CHILDS SHOW
Looking for an inspiring podcast on education and parenting? Check out "The SJ Childs Show," ranked in the top 10% of podcasts globally. It covers diverse topics, including neurodiversity and inclusion, featuring interviews with experts and thought-provoking discussions. This show aims to challenge your beliefs and enhance your skills as a parent, educator, and global citizen. Tune in for unique insights and perspectives!
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THE SJ CHILDS SHOW
Episode 282-Transforming Perceptions of Disabilities in the Workforce with Laura Hope Whitaker of ESP Inc.
What if you could challenge societal norms and change the world’s perception of individuals with disabilities? Join us in an inspiring conversation with Laura Hope Whitaker, CEO of ESP, as she shares her incredible journey of leadership, community building, and the transformative metaphor of the dandelion. At just 19, Laura stepped into the role of CEO after the sudden passing of ESP’s founder, and she has since grown the organization to serve over 1,200 individuals. We uncover the often-overlooked beauty of dandelions, paralleling it with the misunderstood potential in people with disabilities, urging a shift in perspective to appreciate inherent value beyond labels.
In a candid discussion, Laura recounts the initial hurdles of leading a nonprofit, from financial struggles to limited support, and the importance of building a knowledgeable community. She shares her battle with imposter syndrome and the valuable lessons learned from both nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Listeners will be moved by heartwarming testimonies of families and communities impacted by ESP’s services, and inspired by the organization's adaptability and unwavering pursuit of knowledge and support. Laura's story emphasizes the significance of community, resilience, and continuous growth, both personally and organizationally.
Discover the transformative power of meaningful employment for individuals with high support needs through ESP's social enterprise, JavaJoy. Laura explores how JavaJoy provides opportunities and confidence for neurodiverse individuals, fostering positive connections and breaking down barriers in diverse environments. From corporate events to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the journey of Joy Ristas exemplifies the importance of inclusivity in the workforce. Additionally, we discuss creating upward mobility within organizations and supporting individuals with disabilities in finding fulfilling employment opportunities. This episode is a powerful call to action to support inclusive organizations and follow Laura’s mission to uplift individuals and families through community service.
Welcome to the SJ Child Show, where a little bit of knowledge can turn fear into understanding. Enjoy the show. Hi, thank you for joining the SG Child show today. I'm really looking forward to my conversation today with Laura Hope Whitaker. I love that. It's all phonetically wonderfully easy to say. I'm so phonetic and I hate hurting people's last names when I do that, but oh, it's so nice to meet you and have you here today. It's great to meet you too, sarah, thanks for having me. Yeah, absolutely I love your background. That's really cute with the Thanks.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've got a dandelion here and. I love to talk about dandelions.
Speaker 1:You know that's so interesting. I was literally just reading about dandelions. You know that's so interesting. I was literally just reading about dandelions just a couple days ago and how they're the only like well, one of the only plants that represent both the sun and the moon and do the opening and closing of both the day and the night they do have that representation.
Speaker 2:I thought that was so neat that that happened, you know, and it's, yeah, I uh I did a Ted talk on it a few years ago Um, and I paralleled um the population that I work with, with individuals with disabilities, with with Danny Lyons, and it's interesting because our culture um sees them as weeds, but really they for centuries have been used in other countries and centuries back used for medicinal purposes, are really great for your liver.
Speaker 2:They have so many skills and abilities, are the first things that bees use to pollinate the rest of the spring. So it's just like there are these fascinating plants that that are on the front of weed killers here in America, and paralleled the fact that oftentimes, if you haven't had experience with people with disabilities, you may have a certain perspective of who they are and really there are these beautiful, amazing abilities within them. And so I paralleled the difference of them and brought us back to our five-year-old selves that when we all looked at a dandelion, the same, and then how culture kind of changed the perspective of what a dandelion is. And I think the same thing happens for people who are different from us.
Speaker 2:Culture kind of changes our perspectives of people and so, yeah, it's a human experience. Picking a dandelion when you're a child turns out, and it really resonated with a lot of people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that and it is so true too, and that they were used medicinally for so many centuries before us, and in fact I was in the reading that I was doing that. It said they actually didn't grow grass. They tried to get rid of grass to grow the dandelions that you know wanted and how we've just upside down our complete society. But that's another podcast, a lot of hundred podcasts to cover that one. Isn't that the truth? Oh, it's so nice to have you here today. I guess an introduction Tell us a little bit about yourself and what brought you here today.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I come to you from a little outside of Atlanta, georgia. I think what brings me here today is our commonality in what I have chosen to do with my life and the people that I've chosen to serve, and both serve me. So a little bit about me. I went to the college at the University of Georgia, which is outside of Atlanta, in Athens. They've won a couple of national championships recently, so you may know the dogs that way.
Speaker 2:I grew up in Atlanta and this city girl went to Athens for college and volunteering was very much a way of life for my family. Now, as a mom of three children 15, 11, and 7, I often like to remember that what I do today is what my kids will one day display. And for my family, volunteering was a way of life. We had different people that looked different from us, that had different family backgrounds than us, at our kitchen table, and so when I came to the university, I knew I wanted to volunteer and I stumbled upon this little place called ESP, which had a mission to serve individuals with disabilities during the summer at a summer camp and, as many of you know, there's not the same opportunities during the summer as typical or neurotypical individuals and, as many of you know, there's not the same opportunities during the summer as typical or neurotypical individuals. And so I started volunteering there, fell in love with it, really found myself in the service of others. As a second girl, I was wrought with comparison. My sister was perfect. I was not. I was at the university like what is my purpose? What am I here? And really we all want purpose and community, and I really found my sense of purpose at ESP.
Speaker 2:Shortly after that, our founder was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and passed away a couple months later, and so I found myself the director of a nonprofit at the age of 19. And I had to finish my sophomore year of college and figure out how to run a six-week day camp for people with disabilities and hire 30 of my friends, and that was back in 2005. And 20 years later, we now serve over 1,200 individuals throughout the state. We're growing our model to be in multiple cities throughout the country similar to, like the Boys and Girls Club, but we're kind of taking our 40-year model and duplicating it in multiple places. We have a social enterprise called JavaJoy that employs neurodiverse individuals and we're continuing to grow. So that's how I come to you today as the CEO of a growing organization, but really, some days I'm still that 19-year-old girl who took over a small flailing organization and had to figure out how to raise $50,000. And now I'm trying to raise $8 million a year to to fund the organization that we have now.
Speaker 1:So, oh, my goodness, wow, amazing, first of all amazing. What was I doing at 19? Yeah, let's not go back. Let's move on to 33, where now I'm an adult Right.
Speaker 2:Well, we all have our own path.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:It definitely started earlier. So yeah, but I've had the joy of raising my three neurotypical individuals around people who are neurodiverse, and that's really been really part of my anthem song is has a lot to do with speaking to parents and people who don't have experience with people with disability and what. What an opportunity we have to raise our children in an inclusive environment and and I've really been able to see the benefit of that over the last 15 years since I had my son.
Speaker 1:I love that. It's a what an incredible journey, and the amount of families and connections that you've made, I'm sure, is just limitless Amazing. What did that look like? I mean, were you afraid? Like? Did you feel like you had the supports you needed? And when you were that young, starting it all Like, what was your mind frame when you were that?
Speaker 2:young, starting it all Like what was your mind frame? So the funny part about it is that we had a $50,000 deficit I had to raise in three months to run summer camp. We had four board members, one of which was in jail for embezzlement of another nonprofit. The other lost her son tragically shortly after I took over. The third was was the founder's daughter, and the fourth taught me my first how to get in QuickBooks and how to do a P&L and a balance sheet, and and so it to.
Speaker 2:To say I had the support would would not be the case, but what I did do and what I have since, you know, looked back on, you know, even 20 years into it is I knew the biggest thing that I didn't know, and that was that you don't have to know everything, and I surrounded myself with people who did know. And I think you know, imposter syndrome is a word that's flown out there all the time, and I love to kind of change and shift perspectives on it. It's like we don't have to know, we don't have to pretend we're the experts to things or question if we are or we aren't. We're called to move forward and to surround ourselves with people who can help, support us as we do and if we feel led to move in a certain direction or life puts us in a certain certain position. We don't have to be the expert at anything. In fact, it's better if you're not. And that's what I've learned from being around people who are neurodivergent is oftentimes they don't pretend to be the expert at something you know, they're very authentically themselves and in a way that's beautiful and humble and honest. And so, 20 years later, I'm still trying to remember that and be led to surround myself with people who have walked the walk, who have grown organizations as big as we are now and can help guide me and teach me as we move forward, help guide me and teach me as as we move forward.
Speaker 2:So, no, I did not have a ton of support at the time, but I really feel like, um, I was. I was able to surround myself with a community that could teach me. You know, it's funny for the nonprofit people out there. I I went to people in the nonprofit field and said, will you help me? And not one of them responded back to me.
Speaker 2:And so I decided to go to the for-profit world and I was put in this cohort of entrepreneurs who are building their businesses. One's a large franchisee now several franchisees actually and it's been fun to watch them grow their businesses over the last 20 years as I've grown ESP, and it taught me that nonprofits are businesses. Our missions are different, right, our tax codes are different, but at the end of the day, a nonprofit is a business and we have multiple stakeholders. We should run and operate as a business, and the more efficiently and effectively we can run our businesses, the better we can fulfill our mission and the people that we serve. And so I was really thankful at that time you know, when I was 19, 20, 21, 22, to go to the university and learn alongside entrepreneurs, because it really taught me a lot that I that I bring to the organization today from back then.
Speaker 1:I love that you said that too, because I recently just got my filing status for my 501c3. But, like you said, I have a clue what I'm doing. Like I am baby steps into this and I am waiting for the next step to show me what to do next.
Speaker 2:And then I will do it.
Speaker 1:And, like you said, just trying to surround myself or gather information from others who have done it, and now I have someone wonderful I can call.
Speaker 2:There you go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's amazing and, for the same reason, just wanting that availability to connect people with the resources that they need. And it's so hard to find the people who don't know they need the resources or don't know how to find them. How do you find these people? What a tricky, tricky thing to do. But I love that it's like what you're doing is a little bit easier as far as it's community based. People know that they need something in that community. They know they need something tangible, physical, right there for them, for their loved ones, or you know people that they caretake for, and so mine's a little bit more obscure in that it's an online presence, so it kind of has these layers of complexity that kind of add to it and there's not as much of like a physical need for, for things, and and so it's going to be an interesting road, that's for sure. What do you think like? What are some of the testimonies? Maybe, if you will, from families and people who have gone through the program.
Speaker 2:Maybe, if you will, from families and people who have gone through the program Gosh. I mean there's so many. I was. I was talking to a mom just two days ago. We have a in Athens which is our biggest. We serve 900 families in the Athens area, which is where I started and now we've grown to Atlanta and Rome and soon to be Savannah and we'll be growing in North Carolina and outside of the state pretty soon. But I was talking to a family in Athens and we have a 24,000 square foot building where we do after school programming, summer camp programming, java Joy our social enterprise brews out of there and goes into businesses and organizations and serves coffee.
Speaker 2:But really the goal is to help change perspectives and shift perspectives in the workplace. And anyway, I was talking to a mom. We were standing at our Miracle League field. We built a Miracle League field where individuals of all abilities can play baseball, and right next to it is our Playground of Possibilities, which has a really cool story about one of our artistic friends that just I mean he completely changed through the trajectory of his time at ESP. His name is Matt and we built the Playground of Possibilities really in his honor and it was funded in his honor. But it's a universally designed playground, so individuals. It is built from the ground up for everyone to be able to access it and to be able to play. And what we know about that is that little kids who are two and three without disabilities, if they have the opportunity to play with individuals with disabilities on that playground, not only will they continue to play with them there, but they'll build those neural cycles that they need in their brain to then be inclusive outside of the playground. And so we knew we wanted to be a community changer in that way, so we built that playground. And so I'm talking to this mom and she has a daughter who has attended our music therapy program from the time she was four months old and she's now four and about to start our camp programs and our afterschool programs.
Speaker 2:And we just took 55 families to the beach, so it's called our ESP by the Sea program, and you have individuals in wheelchairs, so we have beach wheelchairs. You have individuals on the autism spectrum, you have in everything in between, and every family gets a buddy. And so what's important about this is this is a lot of and you'll understand this that a lot of our families just don't go on vacation. It's too complicated, right the complexities of you know, whether it's the noise, or is my child going to run into the ocean and drown or is. I can't get my child physically 250 pounds of dead weight into on the sand and all that. So what's beautiful is that they have a college buddy that's with them, that's kind of their concierge. Whatever that family needs, that college individual is there to support them. And so for this family it really was.
Speaker 2:She's a single mom and so her daughter had her buddy and she was able to go and walk on the beach by herself. She was able to go to beach yoga while her daughter was taken care of. And she was telling me that. She said you know, I have been paying for out of school speech therapy since she was born, so she gets in school speech therapy and out of school speech therapy. She said we have been working since she started talking, when she was one, to the last three years on her stringing two words together. And she said I went, we went to the beach and we came home and all she kept saying was had fun, had fun.
Speaker 2:And she strung those two words together after the beach and her speech therapist was like I don't know what happened at the beach? Um, but something happened and I think that that's that's not the first time, that's one of many, many times I've heard that um, whether it's from a speech therapist or an occupational therapist, um that in a resource rich environment that is recreational and social and built for relationships, there's not this contrived um environment. You know, it is it. It is really exposure therapy for for all senses, um. And so ESP, um can tend to be a place where it's a lot of. We see a lot of firsts, first step, first time in the pool, first time two words are strung together, first word, first friend Um.
Speaker 2:And that is really pretty cool to be a place that provides that kind of environment that individuals feel comfortable enough to be themselves and to grow, and it's a resource rich environment that they want to be a part of and they're the best versions of themselves. So that's pretty cool. And you know, and the goodness is not just the people we serve in their families, it's also the people that volunteer and work. You know, it's the people who find a sense of purpose and connection and relationship. And you know it's high school students who are anxiety ridden and have panic attacks that come in and start serving and really find themselves in the gift of service too, just like I did when I was 19, you know, and not that those panic attacks are magically gone, but in being able to serve, in exposure therapy for them, in the recreation, in the love, in the connection, they're able to find themselves and really cope with their challenges in a new and different way. So lots of, lots of, really beautiful stories, thousands of them, but those are. Those are some that come to mind.
Speaker 1:I love that and are the college concierge. I love that. You said that. Are they volunteers? That you do? You go to the college. You know colleges around you and gather these groups of kiddos to come and help.
Speaker 2:Yeah, our model definitely works best in college communities. So we have over a thousand college students that volunteer with us at our at our one, our biggest site in Athens, and we're growing that and the other two sites. But, yes, it's really built upon that energy and the enthusiasm and the momentum of young, energetic high school and college students and it's and often I have found too those individuals aren't as like tainted by by whether it's, you know, culture, standards or challenges with their own children or whatever. It doesn't have a fresh perspective on life. They have a fresh energy and, um, even for our individuals that we serve that are 40 or 50 years old, they still want to be hanging out with an 18 year old shoot.
Speaker 1:I still want to be hanging out with it.
Speaker 2:You know, um, it's cool to. So if you have a, you know, a 40 year old on the spectrum or a 38 year old with down syndrome, um, they don't mind hanging out with an 18 or 20 year old, who's super cool, and oftentimes you can't tell who's who. So so, yeah, college, the college and high school staff are really really. We do have internships with summer staff. We do pay a lot of our staff, but, but the volunteerism is where it it seeds first and then it grows from there.
Speaker 1:That's so beautiful. I just love that and love the idea of all of these young people wanting to make a difference. That's so special and I really hope that that continues that movement through the world, absolutely. What are your next? What are your plans? Do you have any upcoming plans or events or things?
Speaker 2:Obviously, summer is happening, so you're going to be a little busy, definitely. Yeah, we've got three weeks or three weeks, three sites of summer camp, so, um, a total of 12 weeks collectively six weeks of day camp in Athens, two weeks in Atlanta, two weeks in Rome and then two weeks of overnight camp, where all the sites come together and go to overnight camp together so that'll be a really neat thing.
Speaker 2:Um, we've started doing some traveling with our um with our JavaJoy program. Javajoy is an unexpected interaction with someone with a disability and it's a catering model a coffee catering model that goes into for-profit businesses and organizations serving coffee and joy. And most recently, we've started doing some travel visits that we're paid to do, which has been pretty awesome. We went to London about a month ago, which was really cool. You can see the trip on my Instagram. We took two individual, two of our joy Ristas we call them a barista they're a joy Rista and we took two of them to London to meet a friend of ours, tom Holland, who's Spider-Man in the Spider-Man movies. He invited us out there and got to see him, and one of our individuals who's autistic was there Nikki, and then Liz, who has Down syndrome, and we flew across the country for our first international business trip and so we were paid to go there and go to this gala and serve and give, and it was awesome.
Speaker 2:We're headed to Colorado in June for the All-American City Award. Our city that we built the Universally Designed Playground is being recognized as one of the top 20 cities because of the inclusivity of the campus that we have built, and so we're going to go out there and bring two more of our Joy Ristas, so really looking forward to that opportunity to travel. And If you think about it, there's a lot of people out there who complain about work, travel, right, but if you've never had the opportunity to go on a business trip, it's pretty transformative. And so we're giving these Joy Reeses the opportunity to go on a business trip. And it's not like oh, that's sweet, it's like no, they're needed in Colorado, they're needed in London. The skills and abilities that they have, I can't do, only they can do. And so that's been really a fun part of our program most recently is doing some of the traveling.
Speaker 1:Wow, incredible, thank you, thank you for doing that. I mean, it's just how exciting for all of the people involved to be a part of that and what a like a huge accomplishment for you guys to to get that and to be able to travel, and that's amazing.
Speaker 2:It's really, I mean to go on an airplane for that long.
Speaker 2:And one of our you know one of our joy races, she like learned how to blow dry her hair independently for the first time because her mom and her sister weren't there. So you know, her and I were sharing a room and I'm like you can do this, girl, you've got this. So the level of independence and confidence that came with traveling I mean, if you think about when you travel and you've gone to more by yourself, without your family, like man, that's such a tremendous confidence boost in your independence. To be able to travel and interact with people who are different and take red buses instead of yellow buses, and figure out how to navigate British accents and foods and all of those things are really really a remarkable experience. And it's fun to watch on the other side too, to be able to, to just to be a participant in that and to watch that level of of confidence grow in our joy. Recess has been a gift to me for sure. Grow in our joy recess has been a gift to me for sure.
Speaker 1:That's amazing. So do they go and do like if people have office meetings, do they go serve coffee, and is that kind of like what the setup is?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I mean we've done large events for thousands and thousands of people and we've done small events for 30 employees appreciation events, corporate individuals that book us to send it to another partner that or someone they're trying to do business with, they'll send job joy out to their business and it's a great way to show a level of partnership. And so, yeah, and then it allows our joy races the opportunity to work and network in a bunch of different businesses. Right, it's like really an incredible opportunity for them to learn their core competency. And there's, you know, there's three different jobs within JavaJoy. They know what they're doing, but the environment's different, which again gives them exposure to different people in different environments, within the safe little nest of their people and the people that are working with them in their particular job.
Speaker 2:So we've just seen incredible growth in independence and social connection with our individuals because they've been able to have we have a cart in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta. That's been really cool. They get to watch Atlanta United and the Atlanta Falcons and interact with all different types of people and I think that that has been really really, really remarkable to see their level of growth. But also people who don't have interaction with individuals who are different from them, people who've never had an interaction with someone with autism, or hugged an individual in a wheelchair, or they feel awkward around someone with Down syndrome, and they have this like meaningful connection which again builds that neural connection, that positive neural connection, that then the next time they interact with someone who's in a wheelchair or someone who's autistic or someone who has Down syndrome, they're more likely to have a positive interaction and to initiate that interaction because they've had a positive experience with JavaJoy. So that's what we hope to be seeding through JavaJoy.
Speaker 1:I love that and it is so important too that we, the public general public, we'll call them have the opportunity to have these positive interactions and then think of how much they can take with them into, you know, talking about it with their friends or with their coworkers.
Speaker 1:And you know, for for us, and the simple way we saw that it could happen, was that I wrote children's books, took them into my children's schools and thought, okay, now here's my second grader and here's all her classmates. Now everyone can understand what dyslexia means and why, how they can support her and why it they can't see that, it that she's challenged by anything but she's. How can they, um support her when she's feeling afraid or confused and and scared to say that she's different than them, even though that she looks the same? You know as long a lot with our autistic members as well, and knowing that those children, that without disabilities, will then take that knowledge and that experience with them into the next grades, into the next grades, into the next grades. And such a beautiful hope. You know that they will and that it will come to fruition that way through, through their experiences.
Speaker 2:We all have to learn right, especially if we've never been exposed to something. And I think oftentimes those of us that are in this community, we can advocate and we can be super strong. But really, education is really where it starts, you know, and if we can start at the youngest ages, on the little kids on the playground, they don't have to unlearn anything, right. If we can start from the bottom, when the brain is malleable and it's moldable, that's really where it starts and then it changes throughout the course of their life. And and I think it's just education and awareness and oftentimes that's what JavaJoy does is it opens up bigger conversations.
Speaker 2:Right of a CEO that goes, man, you know, we had JavaJoy in today and I noticed there were two individuals with Down syndrome and one individual with cerebral palsy. I wonder if anyone in our company has children that have disabilities. I wonder if I wonder and I wonder what their life looks like and then begins to open that conversation in the workplace, which then brings a sense of belonging for those parents who, as you know, are battling things, are balancing what typical parents don't have to balance and feel greater support from the place that they work Right, and so it's like it's just that shift in perspective that helps people to begin to think differently than what we are used to, and it really starts with a shift in perspective and education.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, and positive experience with, with the, the individuals, and I love that you're providing that. And putting joy in the word for anything of the title is really going to, um, make it seem happy, right? You are joyful, you're excited. And who doesn't love coffee? Well, anyone that doesn't love coffee I love coffee are joyful. You're excited. And who doesn't love coffee? Well, anyone that doesn't love coffee? I love coffee. Oh, that's amazing.
Speaker 1:And I really think that, um, especially when, even you know, it's really tricky too, because I believe that all individuals, um, you know, deserve the right to have good employment and things like that and so, but also as a parent of an individual with high support needs, I understand my son may not be able to have the type of job a typical, you know, 14 year old could go and get.
Speaker 1:He doesn't communicate the same, he doesn't understand things the same way, all all of these kind of bridges that we have to gap for them. But also understanding that, you know, yes, he might speak 130 languages, do physics and math in his head. You know, maybe serving coffee would still be a good start for him to be able to learn some basic skills and start things out, because I love the idea of having you know that available but also gaining that experience. You know you don't have to be that for your whole life, you don't? You know you have this super intellectual brain. Let's try to give you the work skills you need to then maybe go on to more gainful employment with you know, a company that you could provide your services to, and things like that.
Speaker 2:And you know, networking is a part of most businesses, right? And so a lot of our joyristas particularly those that are autistic, I think find and build skills that they need to go into another business and at least collaborate with their co-workers or network in some kind of way. And so those meaningful connections, I think, are applicable even outside of the workplace. I had one, one mom, who shared with us that she, her, and her son, who is on the autism spectrum, have been able to connect so much more since he started working at JavaJoy, and it's because he's built these, these question asking skills. So we, we do the question of the day, and you know it's everything from like what superhero would you be, or what's your favorite Thanksgiving dish, or whatever it is. And you know she shared that before Java Joy he would never ask her any questions. She would ask him questions and he would never ask. And so now, every day she'll just say what's the question of the day? And he'll say he'll ask her the question of the day, you know, and even if he's not working a job, he'll come up with his own question of the day, and so it's allowed them to have this connection, and so now he knows her favorite Thanksgiving meal. And so then at Thanksgiving he's like mom, you know the, the sweet potato souffle is the duck and I know that's your favorite meal. And so, again, it's like these little small things that have built connections. But that's a networking skill.
Speaker 2:Being able to ask questions is a networking skill, but it's also a relationship skill, and a mom with an adult son wants to be able to relate and have a, have a relationship with her son. So, so, absolutely, you know it may not be a career for them, it is. For some it's sort of the training program and and I remember the first year sitting down with our 20 joy Reese's that we had hired and saying, like okay, we're going to begin to path out what your next employment opportunities are going to be, so that we can begin to network with these companies and know when we go into these companies, which you know, which would place you in the companies that you want to eventually work at, and all that. And 18 of the 20 looked at us. Like okay, what do you mean? I'm not going anywhere, it's my dream job.
Speaker 2:Like yeah, you're telling me I have to leave, like it was like oh, it was like what I have to leave, and we were like, oh, okay, well, if we're, if that's the case, then we need to build some upward mobility within JavaJoy. And so now we have managers and there's three different positions and pay a minimum of $10 an hour. So we're always paying over minimum wage and up, and so there is upward mobility and many of them can't create a career with JavaJoy as much as they want to work at JavaJoy, and so that part's really neat. But you're right, it's not for everybody. Some just come and learn and then move on and network with another company.
Speaker 1:That hires them everybody. Some just come and learn and then and then move on and network with another company that hires them. But I love that you do that because I and I have a friend who um is in California. I don't know why, I just thought of her this way. But she often sees, like the um interest someone has and thinks, oh, I know what job you can do, you could be this for this kind of theater company. Oh, I said that you like this. Well, I think you should go to this sports caster and you should talk to them about working as a sports writer and then move your way up to sports casting. You know, and she like sees these things way deeply into and it really gave me, like this understanding that, um, yeah, you know our kiddos, they don't just want to work at a grocery store being a backer, they don't just want to have the lease and, like you said, everybody is so different and some people that will be their dream job and that will be where they belong and where they want to be.
Speaker 1:And that's a perfect place to be. And I love that you're having that kind of level up opportunity, because I think that that's some things that us, as parents especially when we're getting our kids to this age 14 and up and 16, that we're will they have any opportunities. Well, we want them to get opportunities, we want the world and society to create opportunities for them. So, you know, how can we, how can we foster all of that with them? And you're right, through networking and community building and and making sure that we, we keep all of that kind of outreach going on within that. So, oh my gosh, I can't imagine what that, what that looks like for you guys, but it's so exciting. So, what kind of things are you guys doing at your summer camp, at your day camps?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So gosh everything. I mean anything that a typical individual can do. Gosh everything. I mean anything that a typical individual can do. We're doing, we're doing at camp everything from field trips to crazy mud wars, to all music therapy, to to sports, to all the things. I mean, if you, if you like it, we are doing, it guaranteed. And then our overnight camp is a really amazing opportunity again for that independence, but also for the respite for the families who have been caretaking day in, day out. Many of our families, you know those that are that are still married. We encourage them, go like, go to go to the beach, go wherever like, go spend time on your marriage so that you can come back revitalized to take care of your individual. Or some, you know we've all single parents, a lot of grandparents raising green children, and so it's really an opportunity for them to find find respite and support that they need. But yeah, I mean we're doing it all this summer and it's really neat.
Speaker 2:Matt I mentioned with the playground of possibilities, he's one of our friends, one of our autistic friends and he, when he first came in, from a sensory perspective, I mean we have it's a pretty loud environment. We do have quiet rooms and sensory rooms and things like that. But you know, he would come in with his, with his earphones on, and he would make it to the front door and then he'd go outside, and then he, and so gradually he would make it to what I call the tree room, which is there's a giant tree when you first walk into to our organization uh, faux tree. It kind of looks like, you know, like a Disney world country. He'd make it to the tree room and then he'd go back outside and then he'd make it to the big room and then he'd go outside and he'd make it into his.
Speaker 2:Anyway, three years into it he is in the middle of what we call the flag circle, which is how we start our camp day. It's 250 individuals in a circle singing camp songs and there is Matt in the very middle with a microphone leading a camp song without his headphones. Wow, and that I mean. And so there was an individual that saw the transformation, that was friends with Matt's family and helped us contribute what we needed for the Playground of Possibilities. And so I just like, every time I'm on that playground, I remember Matt's story and just the impact of an environment like ESP and how it truly can transform someone. And now he's able to go to birthday parties and football games and things like that, because he was kind of sensitized to that level of energy and sound and all of that, and to see his level of growth is awesome. So those are the kind of transformations I'm looking forward to watching this summer, which is going to be really, really great.
Speaker 1:Dr Temple Grandin says that all the time too, that people they need to work on desensitizing that's one of her big, big teachings is that you got to help these kids get desensitized over some of these things.
Speaker 2:And I think what's hard as a parent is you. It's hard to be the one to do that because innately, as parents, I know with my children I don't want to see them uncomfortable, I don't want to see them hurting, I don't want to see them bothered, and so what's beautiful about an environment like an ESP or or an organization like ESP or school is that I don't have those same feelings towards your child and you don't have the same feelings towards my children, right? And so I'm able to help them be a little uncomfortable, which is okay, so they can be desensitized to a lot of these things. And the parents can't do it alone. They need community individuals to circle around and love their children and help support their children in that way, and that's what ESB is all about.
Speaker 1:My goodness, I'm moving to Atlanta. Folks, sorry, come on, girl, we're out of here. Sorry, you saw we're out of here. No, that is incredible and so much along the lines of so many things I want to do and want to see happen in my own community for my own children. So, thank you, thank you, Thank you, thank you for all your amazing work that you're doing and for creating such an amazing space for families and individuals to thrive in their human you know, you know dignity and in their place on this, on this earth. It's so hard to to really have that sensitive heart towards every human and every individual. So thank you so much for being one of those special people.
Speaker 2:Well, it's an honor and it's an honor to raise my typical children in this community. I think they are going to be to go and continue to change the world, because they are seeing the importance of valuing every human life and, regardless of what ability or disability that you have, we all have abilities to give and we all have abilities to exchange with one another, and so it's an honor. It's an honor to raise my children around this community, love that.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's been so great to get to know you and I'm really excited. We made this connection and hope that we can stay in touch to foster a lot of collaborations in the future. But before we go, please let everyone know where they can go to find out more information to support you on your social medias. All of the good stuff, yeah.
Speaker 2:I would love for people to come and follow me on social media. We're doing a big special education appreciation right now, which I just love. We're giving all the goodies away to all the special education teachers that are doing really remarkable things in our community. You can find me on Instagram Laura Hope Whitaker um, Laura Hope Whitaker on Instagram, and my website is laurahopewhitakercom. You can also follow Java Joy and ESP at ESP Inc and Java Joy on Instagram, and then again, my information is laurahopewhitaker.
Speaker 1:Hopefully you got all that up there you got it. My fancy typing skills there. Yes, and go and tell me the the job.
Speaker 2:It's just at job joy on Instagram and at ESP Inc.
Speaker 1:ESP. Oops, that's not right. Es, my dyslexia wants to get away with me. All right, how does that look? Yes, and there you go, boom, yay, okay, wonderful. Well, please go and follow these channels and make sure that you go to the website and also follow Laura on her social media, so that you can support this amazing organization and the wonderful families that are a part of it and, most importantly, the wonderful individuals who are receiving such an amazing opportunity on this journey for themselves. So, thank you, so much.
Speaker 2:It was a joy. Thank you, Sarah. It's great to meet you.
Speaker 1:Great to meet you too, and I look forward to staying in touch Same. Have a great day.
