Speaker 0 00:00:00 Okay.
Speaker 1 00:00:06 <inaudible>
Speaker 0 00:01:00 Um, good evening. Thank you for joining disability and progress, where we bring you insights into ideas about and discussions on disability topics. My name is Sam. I'm the host of the show. Thanks so much for tuning in Charlene doll is my research team. Thank you, Charlene. Annie Harvey is my engineer tonight. Thank you, Annie. And this is cafe 90.3, FM Minneapolis and kvi.org. Tonight. We're speaking with Tasha Kellan. Tasha is going to talk to us about her company is a door nut company and also Jewish disability awareness and inclusion month. Good evening, Tasha. And thanks so much for joining me.
Speaker 0 00:01:42 Thank you for having me. I have to tell everyone and I it's so funny cause Tasha says, are you going to talk about our history? I said, yes, whether you like it or not. And I go a long way back because she was at KFC. I, when KFC, I had a new spot and Tasha was the mad news woman, not mad as an angry of course, but she was right before my show. And it was, I always, I have always good memories of you, so whatever, whatever did or didn't transpire, it must've been okay. So I will say it was an honor to produce news right before your program, because it gave me an opportunity to learn about some of the issues that you are covering on your show. Uh, well thank you. Yes. So it was a lot of fun and, and um, I want, yeah. And boy, have you come a long way? Uh, so you used to be our like big news producer and talk about a little bit about that and you left and what you did and how you came to where you are. Okay. Well,
Speaker 2 00:03:00 Um, first of all, thank you so much for inviting me on. Um, I really do appreciate it and I'm excited to be here, um, to talk about my company, um, my history. And, uh, uh, and as you mentioned that Jewish disability actually employment, uh, awareness and inclusion, I think I forgot an a in their advocacy. I think it's yeah, no, not, not, not at all. Cause that was my fault I forgotten. So, um, we'll, we'll get back to, uh, we'll get back to what, uh, Jay Dane is Jewish disability, acceptance awareness and inclusion month. So been a little bit, um, but real quickly, uh, yeah, I was the news director at KFA radio over 20 years ago. That seems like it makes me kind of like a dinosaur only telling on us, you know, I was in my late twenties and their lists and, and the great thing about KFA radio for, for those of, you know, or don't know, but there are just so many ways to get involved and, uh, the news department was one of the best ways to get involved. So I started as a volunteer, um, as you are, um, and, uh, being able to come on and do stories about, um, local community issues that was cafe's focus really was local community issues. Um, but you know, it gave me, I provide such an incredible, um, platform for people who, uh, you know, want to flex any kind of muscle, right?
Speaker 2 00:04:57 Uh, play the music you want to play or do the, uh, uh, advocacy work that, uh, like you're doing Sam or, um, go out and cover news stories that are maybe being overlooked by mainstream media. And, uh, and that's how I found myself at KSA in the newsroom as a volunteer. And eventually, as you said, became the news director. And I just want to share one really cool story because it does go back to again that, um, you know, when you're smaller, um, when you're community oriented, you're a little more nimble and you have a little more, um, you have a little more opportunity, uh, uh, surprisingly, uh, resources available to you. And I had a really special opportunity to go to Cuba. Um, we had a ball, we had an intern through Hamlin university and, uh, she was from Germany and her programs specifically allocated, uh, funds for her to travel as part of her internship and do a certain kind of news story. And she came to me and she said she wanted to do a news story in Cuba. And I thought, well, she's needs a producer.
Speaker 2 00:06:16 I said, I'm going to come with you and let's figure out what the news, what the story we want to cover in Cuba was. And at the time this was late nineties. And, uh, and it didn't take too much to realize that back in the eighties, uh, Cuba had a response to the AIDS pandemic. The pandemic that we had before our current one was completely different from any way that any other country in the world was handling the AIDS crisis. And that was quarantine, which we all know that word now in a very different way, but this was, this was quarantining anybody with an, uh, positive AIDS diagnosis. So it really helped them as a country to lock down, um, anybody with positive, uh, positive HIV and then to, um, and it was controversial as you can imagine, right? I mean, you know, you're gonna lock up somebody, uh, once, you know, they have a positive case, but then, uh, their whole mission was to preach the gospel of prevention.
Speaker 2 00:07:29 And so they were very open about, you know, if you went into quarantine and you got, uh, you know, you got, um, uh, treatment, uh, for, for your HIV that you learned that condom use is the only thing you can do to prevent the spread of AIDS. And, uh, and so that, that became like the big badge of pride for, for Cuba. So anyway, that's a little digression to share that, um, uh, this amazing intern and I went to Cuba, um, we, um, we went in through Mexico because we didn't actually have, um, uh, journalists, these, those they wouldn't give.
Speaker 2 00:08:14 Right. So we went and then we add, uh, Kira, but certainly night, um, interview, just a ton of different people and came back and produced this really, uh, very, very interesting, um, news story about, uh, how Cuba dealt with the AIDS crisis and presented it to, um, to KFA listeners and had it on the web for a while, and even, um, presented it for a, um, associated press, um, award in their, um, like in their little documentary unit. That is cool. But, but, but my memories of KFA, I am seeing you on Thursday nights were also very special. Um, again, particularly, I remember you, um, you had a service dog, do you still have a service? Cannot obviously be the same service dog,
Speaker 0 00:09:11 Unfortunately not, but she's still just as good. So still a German shepherd. I love those shepherds, so, yep. We still, and Charlene has one too. So together we were all the station there. At least we think we do.
Speaker 2 00:09:32 Oh, I'm sure you do. And we'll again, when you're, everyone's able to be back in person
Speaker 0 00:09:38 That's right.
Speaker 2 00:09:42 No, no, I was just gonna say, um, just to segue, um, I ended up, uh, going to Minnesota public radio shortly after, um, uh, we did that Cuba piece and, uh, and, and helped produce the news. Um, all things considered there, uh, for a couple of years before I, before I left, um, and, uh, you know, started to pursue other things in my life.
Speaker 0 00:10:09 And then she left radio altogether.
Speaker 2 00:10:15 Um,
Speaker 0 00:10:17 You started your own company, which is no easy feat either, but you chose nuts. And so talk about how you decided to actually start your own company. And why did you choose nuts?
Speaker 2 00:10:31 Yeah, well, so I, um, I left NPR, um, shortly after nine 11, I felt like I needed to do something that felt like it was, you know, kind of back in the vein of KFH giving back to the community and supporting it. So I went and worked for a nonprofit, and then I got engaged and got married and quit my job. Then we traveled and, uh, came back and wanted to start a family and started that family and, uh, children later, uh, who were just getting into school. I, I was ready to kind of get focused again on what my passion was work. And I actually started a yoga teacher certification training, um, not knowing if I wanted to teach or not, but, um, one of the things that, um, uh, that I was learning about was are you Veda? And, um, that's the Indian health system, and it's very broad in its application because it applies to, um, uh, you know, type of things you do for your body and the type of things you put in your body.
Speaker 2 00:11:41 And I started learning about health benefits of things like turmeric, uh, and, uh, help, uh, that it's an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, and with a little bit of black pepper, your body's more, uh, um, open to absorbing those health benefits from cinnamon is, um, uh, helps carbs, sugar, cravings, stabilizes blood sugar, and it's a warming spice. And so, as I was learning about, um, sort of the yoga, um, uh, physical, uh, attributes, and then also learning about the, um, the healthcare attributes of it, I started applying it to my own life and putting it in my own food and I'm gluten free. And, uh, and we would visit our local farmer's market. And I was aside from, you know, being able to pick up some wonderful produce, there was always like the baked goods or other, um, other gluten wading snacks. And I thought, well, farmer's market is missing, like, you know, uh, uh, a niche that could only be filled by something that's gluten free and high protein and tastes delicious. And I looked around and I just didn't see it. And that's really where the nuts came in, um, wanted to, you know, make healthy, delicious, nuts snacks for family and friends and thought like the farmer's market is the next best step. You know, it just, it wasn't so much like, Oh, I need to start a business. It was, well, I just need to sort of share what I'm doing, because I'm not the only one, you know, who would want to have these sort of meat.
Speaker 3 00:13:23 Right. And obviously it took off.
Speaker 2 00:13:29 Yeah. Yeah. So a funny story. Um, I started thinking about what is it going to take to get into the farmer's market? This is two months into my yoga teaching certification. So I've got one night on learning the training and the other, I on am I, you know, creating a brand, um, with this product. And, uh, a friend invited me to participate in a, um, uh, a holiday pop-up in the church basement of, uh, uh, the, uh, Dinah morning side church. And I had started putting the nuts. I had like three different varieties and I cashews walnuts pecans, and I had three different spices. The cayenne kick was a way to bring in some heat. And then also that turmeric that I mentioned has cayenne, um, uh, cayenne actually, um, um, helps, uh, um, uh, sorry, it's like an appetite suppressant. So if you, if you eat a little something with cayenne as a way to kind of hold off before you're ready to eat a big meal, um, you know, you just need a little bit, plus you add in that turmeric and the black pepper, and then all of a sudden you're getting these, you know, these great health benefits.
Speaker 2 00:14:51 And so that there was that one, there was cinnamon spice, the cinnamon warming spice helps curb sugar cravings. Great. So people with diabetes, cause again, I was actually only sweetening with a little maple syrup that I was buying locally. Um, and that was important to me too. So turmeric and the cinnamon together just created this like almost like cinnamon toast crunch cereal, like that's almost like the effect that it has. Um, but then you get that protein boost. And, uh, and then I created this one called lemon Rosemary. Uh, it has lemon and fresh Rosemary and cumin seed and cumin seeds, the most popular spice worldwide, the black pepper. Isn't that interesting.
Speaker 2 00:15:37 Yeah. And it's, and it's, you know, it's the kind of thing that like you've travel and you find that people put that in food, but it's, you know, it's just, you know, salt and pepper is just so common here in the States and people are branching out a little bit more, but the, uh, but I, but it was important to me to package him glass jars, right. And, um, um, reduce my eco footprint as much as possible. So I showed up at that holiday market with beautiful glass jars, with the beautiful nuts. And I sold them for pennies because my degree is in English. And, uh,
Speaker 2 00:16:21 I was, I was just pretty much given that product away. And people were so excited that they were buying like jars at the time and I'm selling out and there's a woman from the star Tribune and she says, Oh, this is fantastic. I love what you're doing. I want to write about you for our local food section. I'm like, yeah, this is awesome. Um, and so we just, like, things started to like fall into place. And I was going to do a pop-up at another, uh, holiday, uh, actually the friend's clothing boutique. And, uh, and she had some other like housewares and things. And the article came out on a Thursday in the taste section and she had a picture of the jars and they looked really beautiful. And this boutique that I was going to do, the pop-up in was only open from like noon to five on Saturday. So they'd have limited hours. I show up at like 1145, there's all ready, align waiting.
Speaker 2 00:17:29 Oh my God, Sam, it was crazy because this just goes to show how bad I was at business that I didn't even have enough product to take care of all the people that were in line. I did not anticipate know what to anticipate. I did not understand the appeal of like the demand that comes at holiday time. And so I learned really quickly, like, you know, holiday can make or break a business and you gotta be ready and you gotta have your product. So that was, that was a really exciting experience to just kind of get everything off and rolling with people like really excited and getting some local press. And yet I was still in the middle of this yoga training, which was like, you know, a nine months, uh, commitment. Um, so after the holidays I put everything on hold. I went back to the yoga commitments I finished up and I figured out like, okay, so, uh, you know, how do I, how do I start to spread the news about the nuts?
Speaker 2 00:18:29 And that's what I started to do. I kinda, I figured out, well, I'm gonna do my own yoga, but I'm also gonna see how I can, how I can take and grow with this company. So I gave it a formal name. I named it is adored that company after my grandfather. Um, he was on ad man in St. Louis in the 1950s. And he would ask for organic food and no one knew what he was talking about. So, uh, she was ahead of his time. He was a trailblazer and I sort of followed in those footsteps of like, here's a product that I know people want, they're excited to eat it and we're filling that void.
Speaker 0 00:19:09 So I want to talk a little bit about, you know, you, you do purchase locally. Um, you talk about purchasing your maple syrup locally and anything that you can, as far as that goes, why do you feel like that's so important?
Speaker 2 00:19:25 So when I started this company, obviously, as I was saying before the break, I wasn't, I didn't exactly have a head for business. So, um, uh, really knowing how to run those numbers early on was, was not my forte. And I wasn't trying to get true, get rich quick scheme. If anything, I wanted to figure out how to give back, uh, to the community, how to support local, uh, makers as much as possible feeling like we are inundated with multinational corporations that eat up little companies when they are just trying to grow and get strong. And the only way that, you know, sustainable, um, sustainability works is if you know about, you know, who the, who the local makers are and you're able to support them. So, um, for instance, our maple syrup comes from, uh, a wonderful, um, a wonderful maple sugar, uh, syrup purveyor in Taylor's falls called damn sugar shack.
Speaker 2 00:20:34 And, uh, he even works with, uh, his church and the, uh, the, um, boys and, um, the boy Scouts to tap the trees and things like that. And it, it's just, that's how sustainability works, right, is that we, we reach out into our community and we say, Hey, like, where is the need? Not, how can I give more money to, um, ConAgra? Um, you know, let's, let's figure out what sustainability is going to look like in our community. And often times it's, you know, it's just as simple as like finding out so that your local farmer's market and can they, you know, can they do bigger supplies then? Um, maybe just what they're offering, you know, on a weekly basis,
Speaker 0 00:21:22 You were local for awhile, but you now can be ordered like from pretty much anywhere. I mean, you're on Amazon now. Um, how did you make that jump and get as much product? What, what clicked to give you the knowledge to be able to stretch and grow as you needed?
Speaker 2 00:21:43 You know, um, my company's almost eight years old. It'll be eight years in June. And I feel like I am learning so much along the way, and I still have so much to learn, but very much. Um, I attribute very much my, um, my, my learning and my understanding to the local, um, the local food community. We have an incredible resource here in Minnesota. Um, just starting with the department of agriculture. They actually have a whole arm that is devoted to helping local food businesses grow. Um, there there's a cottage food, um, uh, licensed that you can get if you're just starting out in your home and you'd like to make jam or pickles or something, um, you can get that license and then you can go and sell at the farmer's market. And you'd put up a little sign that says, you know, products made in my home.
Speaker 2 00:22:48 Um, and then as you grow, you know, there's just so many different avenues, um, because this community is so, uh, it's just stretching and flexing and supportive of one another. Uh, in fact, the larger companies that we, um, were home to general mills, uh, target places like that, they're interested in helping smaller businesses get a leg up and grow and expand. And there was lots of different programs that are there, uh, grow North is a new program, kind of came out of support from general mills and target, and, uh, came out of the university of Minnesota. So places like that, uh, are available to supply information and support and education to all sorts of, uh, entrepreneurs. So I felt like I was just super supported and not in trying to grow. And, and then just asking lots and lots and lots of questions.
Speaker 0 00:23:51 Do you see as in and everything you do your own seasoning and everything on your nuts?
Speaker 2 00:23:57 Yeah, so we buy, um, we buy, we buy walnuts from, um, walnuts come from California. Um, we buy pecans from, uh, Oklahoma. This is a great family run business that, uh, uh, very committed to being environmental stewards and, uh, and proclaim that right on their website. And we are sourcing cashews, um, from that from MDs. And then we bring all of those raw ingredients. Then we've got that great local maple syrup. We've got our spices that we purchased through, um, a local co-op partners warehouse, which actually supports the co-op. And then we do all of our production. And, you know, one of the reasons that I'm here tonight to talk to you, it's all about where we produce. Can I share that story?
Speaker 2 00:24:53 Okay. So, um, we proceed, so, so real quick, just the fact that, um, you know, we were able to grow, um, slowly in the farmer's markets, and then we've been start to get into some co-ops. Um, about five years ago, I kind of looked around and saw, Oh, wow. Like we started to fill a void a couple of years ago, and there are some big companies that have jumped in both feet. They can scale faster. Their products are, um, you know, um, a little more, uh, competitively priced and, uh, and they are growing and they are national and they are kind of filling that void. We thought we were filling. So in the summer of 2018, I was almost ready to close up shop. I thought that I was going to, um, finish out the holiday season and then, you know, devote my life to some other passions because other people were doing a really good job with high quality spice, nuts, and, um, uh, you know, not too much sugar.
Speaker 2 00:25:57 And then someone told me about a brand new kitchen at a place called, uh, J hat stands for Jewish housing programming located in golden Valley. And J hap was located within cornerstone Creek apartments. And so when I went to tour this brand new kitchen, beautiful kitchen, um, in golden Valley, the kitchen director said, uh, you know, when people rent this kitchen, we'd also like them to passively employed the tenants who live at cornerstone Creek. And that's those when the flood Gates opened in my mind, because what she said is the penance of cornerstone Creek are adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities living independently. That to me, yeah, it was eyeopening. It was, Oh my God, I absolutely, when can I start, you know, this sounds like the most amazing opportunity. And it really was, it has changed everything. It has, um, inspired me to, you know, grow bigger, um, proclaim on our packaging that we hire people of all abilities. Um, we offer customized inclusive employment now working at J hat and, um, or producing at J hat. And it's, it's really one of the most exciting things I've ever done in my whole life
Speaker 0 00:27:28 Must have been a little bit of a learning curve. Talk about that, learning how to work with them and them learning how to work with you.
Speaker 2 00:27:36 Absolutely. So one of the great things for the woman who, uh, was the kitchen director at the time named Nicole, uh, said, you know, people, uh, people with disabilities that, um, that you can hire, um, many of them come with job coaches. And so that job coaches there to, um, to, to support, uh, your, your future employees, um, to help them gain confidence and learn the skills needed to do the job you want them to do. And, uh, and we're here the job coaches here to, um, to facilitate kind of a smooth transition. Um, and that was that, that was just icing on the cake, uh, because it gave me the opportunity to meet people that I, you know, I had my eyes opened. I did not understand until I moved into J hat kitchen, that 80% of people, um, with a disability are either unemployed or underemployed. And to know that I could, you know, even in my small way with my small company, try to help reduce that incredible level of unemployment, um, felt so important. And to know that if you have someone like a job coach to make it, you know, just help make that transition that much smoother, you know, why shouldn't anybody do this?
Speaker 0 00:29:15 And you, I mean, I think some of the, the big talk with people talking about underemployment is, you know, some of them work in these workshops that they make, you know, just a couple bucks an hour and you really try hard to do as, as much competitively pay as you can.
Speaker 2 00:29:36 I absolutely do. Yeah. My goal is to get everybody to $15 an hour. And, um, we start at, uh, uh, we started 11, um, and, uh, and usually, um, pre pandemic. It was, he started $11 an hour. You worked for a month and that is, um, kind of a probationary period. And you figure out, is this a good job for you? I figure out is, are you a good fit for us? And, uh, and if you are, then I'll bump you up to 12, um,
Speaker 0 00:30:08 That's a reasonable thing. And a lot of people with disabilities are not always paid equally as their counterparts.
Speaker 2 00:30:16 Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean, there's, um, you know, we're a small company and so, you know, we can't, you know, we're not talking, you know, 40 hour a week positions right now, but what we are talking about is showing people how valued they are, um, how grateful we are to have them a part of our team, how they get to, um, they get to learn alongside somebody without a visible disability. And they get to help teach people, you know, without a visible disability, you know, their skills and their, um, their abilities. And, and that's, that's one of the best things that you can do is just, you know, share knowledge.
Speaker 0 00:31:08 Yeah. I, I'm really thrilled that you have found this niche because I think that, um, people with that are just, you know, working in the world that are hiring people, they don't always stumble upon that and understand that people with disabilities can be just as hard workers, just as in fact, sometimes more loyal. Um, how, how did things change for your company if at all during the pandemic?
Speaker 2 00:31:38 Well, so they, they, they changed in a couple of interesting ways, even leading up to the pandemic. I was at a point where I, I, I had learned from one of my first employees that, uh, that the packaging we used, um, a craft bag that you fill by hand, um, you waved the nuts, um, and then you seal the bag and then you put on a label, um, takes, takes a learning curves. And if you have challenges with, uh, you know, dexterity, um, that might not be the easiest thing for you to put on that label. So one of the things we were doing is, um, uh, two people would work alongside one, another, somebody with maybe some dexterity challenges would open the bag, filled the bag, closed the bag, and then hand it off to another employee who would put on that label. Um, and, and what I realized, well, we've got to get away from this kind of, uh, you know, this kind of packaging because it, it just makes it that much harder for, um, for the employee who has to hand off the bag.
Speaker 2 00:32:51 It would be much better if that person could, you know, do the complete job. And I started looking into how could we change our packaging, um, have preprinted bags or something, but really what I wanted to convey was what we're doing and put that information on our packaging. Um, the pandemic kind of brought some of those dreams to a, to a crashing halt because, um, a lot of our business, we were doing more business selling to, um, uh, to hotels. Um, and yeah, yeah, catering companies. And a lot of that obviously closed up, you know, real fast because of the pandemic, sadly. Uh, and so the idea of, uh, rebranding right away was not, it just wasn't as feasible, but what was feasible was starting to share the message of what we were doing, whether that was me actually getting an opportunity to do things like I'm doing now, talk to your audience, um, about, uh, the importance of inclusive employment and reducing unemployment in the disability community, um, started, we decided to put it on the current packaging that we had, again, there's those labels and they have to be hand applied, but there's nothing stopping us from saying right on that packaging.
Speaker 2 00:34:16 You know, we hire people of all abilities, uh, handmade by people of all abilities. And, um, and that was something that, uh, that came about because of the pandemic was, um, let's just, you know, we're not ready to invest in a bigger rebrand, but we can get that message start spreading that message and spreading that word. And that, that was hugely important to me. And, uh, uh, I even, um, found that some of my employees that I had, uh, who had family members who were, you know, compromised, couldn't come back to work. Um, but they, you know, they were people who had other opportunities, so that, that wasn't necessarily within the disability community, that we were, you know, that we were losing employees. If anything, we were able to look within the, uh, other look without, with, um, outside of, um, J hap and find programs.
Speaker 2 00:35:14 There's programs like reach for resources, there's ways to work with, uh, some of the public schools, because they have programs specifically to, um, to help people, um, with different, uh, intellectual, developmental disabilities to get them, you know, job training. And, uh, and that, that became a big focus was how, how can we make a commitment, um, to, to hire more people with disabilities and spread that word. And really that, that became, that became a big part of our focus in the pandemic is helping people understand that what we make is a delicious, healthy product that makes a meaningful guests, because when you buy are, when you buy as the door nuts, you are, um, helping us reduce unemployment in the disability community.
Speaker 0 00:36:10 And that is an excellent thing. I'd like to talk a little bit, if you would about, um, Jewish disability, acceptance awareness inclusion month. Tell, can you tell me I'm working on it? Can you tell me a little bit about what that means?
Speaker 2 00:36:27 Yes. So, uh, amazing, uh, local woman, her name's Shelley Christiansen. Um, she worked for an organization called a Jewish family and children's service and was their inclusion director. And this was about 35 years ago, um, that, uh, uh, that people were, and I'm sure, you know, you're, you're no stranger to just in the last, what, 10, 15 years, even the issues of inclusion and disability rights have gained more prominent, but the idea that it's very easy to isolate people with disabilities, uh, particularly in a faith community, um, because they don't know how to support, um, you know, it, it, it really just kind of goes back to old models where people don't ask enough questions to figure out how can we support the people in our community and our mints.
Speaker 0 00:37:34 Interesting that you say that because I would have thought that in faith communities, it would be better, but that's not necessarily, so,
Speaker 2 00:37:42 Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's the struggle right. As everyone is trying to get better. I think that there's just been a, I think it's breaking down old barriers, um, because when you've done things a certain way, you, you don't see the reason to make those changes necessarily. Uh, so, so, uh, 2009 actually, um, is when, uh, uh, the, the whole movement around helping people in the Jewish community say, we need to accept, um, be more aware of, and include people with disabilities into our, uh, religious life. And, uh, and they chose the month of February because, um, in the community, uh, in the Jewish religion, there are Jewish holidays all over the calendar. Um, and, uh, and one of the things, uh, in particular, there's a big holiday, uh, the Jewish new year that, um, is kind of in the harvest time. So September, October, which is also right after school starts.
Speaker 2 00:38:56 Um, so then you have those that month that, uh, you know, time is really taken up with things. And then, um, you've got, uh, uh, you've got the Christmas Hanukkah and Kwanzaa all in the end of the year in December. And so what they wanted to figure out was, well, when, when is the time when we can pick something pick a month where we can start to raise that awareness, and then we can just get the ball moving. And so that's why they settled on February. They said, let's, um, let's take this to our community. Let's start having talks with, start having some podiums, like, you know, and it started on a local level, Minnesota and some other States. And, and by, by 2009, it had taken off, um, globally. And it has, um, it has really expanded and there are all sorts of different organizations that, you know, really pride themselves on having all sorts of different talks and discussions.
Speaker 2 00:39:59 And in fact, I'm going to be part of a webinar next week, um, specifically around inclusion. And, uh, the idea is have both, you know, get the information, get the education in February, and then get the ball rolling in March and April, so that your congregation is thinking about, well, what can we do? Where do we have, where do we have blind spots that we are not supporting people in the disability community within our congregation? Um, and that, uh, uh, that is just, you know, as you said, I mean, it's just so important because if people think, Oh, we're doing a great job, and then you realize, no, there's lots of stories about people who feel like they're being left behind. This is how you get them, you know, without shaming them to say, like, okay, let's, what's kind of, you know, what kind of a difference can we make?
Speaker 0 00:40:55 And for you, like, how do you see inclusion besides employment, which is a big one, but it's not the only one.
Speaker 2 00:41:06 No, I think, um, you know, one of the things I really like to emphasize is, um, you know, we've all got, uh, the challenges that we, you know, that we bring to the table, whether it's a visible disability or it's an invisible disability, I'm the first to say that, um, you know, I have a generalized thing gaiety and I take medication for it. And I need that. You know, that's really important me to kind of be a function in adults and parents and business owner. Um, but that, you know, we're all individuals and we all want to be valued and we all have our stories. And we just have to understand that inclusion means the openness and the willingness to hear other people's stories and understand and learn from them and know that there is so much that we can gain when we're just open to, um, to, to, to gaining a greater understanding of, you know, who are fellow, um, who are, who our fellow fellow citizens are. And, and Judaism actually has a really beautiful, um, teaching practice it's called Tikun Olam means repairing the world. And so I take that message into everything. When you say, you know, what does inclusion mean to you? It means how can we make this world a better place for every single human that, uh, uh, that is living in it.
Speaker 0 00:42:42 And I actually would like to go a little deeper as far as, um, I'll, I'll tell a story on my behalf. Um, when I was a teenager, I was part of a religious group and I left that religious group. Some of it was because it was, my, my belief had changed a little bit, but, but half of it at least was because I didn't feel included and included meaning to me was, did anybody in our teenagers really important to feel included with the other teenagers? So what teenagers ever called me to ask me to hang none of them, which one's ever called me to ask me to go to a movie, none of them, um, who, who ever, you know, gave me a task to be a part of some kind of fun, you know, things that they were doing for charity or whatever, you know, it, it, it, all, it is all comes down to that's true inclusivity, right.
Speaker 0 00:43:45 Um, and I think that that is something that people need to remember it, you know, it's not, it is listening is great and knowing stories is great, but you, you really have to take the extra step to, and make sure you are actually doing the work of giving that person apart in your, your faith, in your church, in your employment, in your wherever you are. You know, they've got to have some kind of part that they're doing, because if they don't feel valued or that they hold enough of, you know, that they matter, it, it tends to make them not care if they're as big a part of the, the group or not. So
Speaker 2 00:44:30 I spoke to Shelly Christiansen, um, the creator, the creator of, uh, Jay Dame earlier today. And she said, people's lives depend on belonging,
Speaker 0 00:44:41 Right? Yeah. Yeah. I like that. That's good. You mentioned leveling the playing field. Tell me what that means to you.
Speaker 2 00:44:50 Well, I, I, I think I would turn that back to you. Um, you know, what, you know, you talked about, um, you know, as a teenager feeling like, you know, you're, you're kind of on the outside, you know, um, there's the support you get from, uh, from your church group, but, you know, just as a normal teenager growing up, you know, no, one's no one's saying like, Hey, Sam want to go to the movies and hang out. And, and, uh, and, and I think we, I think that, um, you know, backing up a little bit, this idea of 80% unemployment in the disability community creates barriers for people with disabilities. You basically stopped seeing people with disabilities in the workforce. And so then you stopped thinking about the needs of people with disabilities. Um, I think we really need to work at, you know, in order to level the playing field, we need to work at how, you know, how do we, how do we get people who are experiencing, uh, uh, isolation? How, how do we hear from them? How do we get them front and center so that, um, children growing up today, you know, maybe see someone with a disability and realize like, that's something that's no, that should that kid very similar to them, except for, you know, maybe one thing, how do we help? Would you, would you care to say, you know, something about like your, you think, uh, and that the parents as well?
Speaker 0 00:46:49 Sure. You know, I think for me, uh, growing up and being a, even a young adult, one of the best things was, you know, people always consider, like, if somebody comes up to you and starts asking you about something that that's rude, um, I, I think it's not, you know, um, ignorance and, and, um, the unknown, that's what scares people, right? Not knowing about if somebody is using crutches or how they got that way or what their differences are, what can they really see that that's what scares people than not having the knowledge about that, that taught type of disability. People are horrified by, you know, just when you mentioned, like, if you mentioned being deaf for a paraplegic or blind or whatever that scares people, but if you talk about it, not that it will scare them less, but at least they'll have knowledge and knowledge and makes it human.
Speaker 0 00:47:53 Right. It makes it, it reaches out to say, I am me and I cannot see you because I had whatever. And, and this is how I learned. Look at, I can show you braille. And this is how I, so all these things that you would learn about somebody that is, I think, is what it's all about is asking and talking to them and, and not being afraid to confront them about, um, the disability and not being shushed, or don't say that that will be, you know, that's, that's embarrassing to me. It's not you, you're not the one with the disability. So, you know, I really would encourage parents to allow their kids to ask most people, don't mind talking about it. And in fact, it's, it's an educational thing. If you put it that way, um, you know, you'll always get the cranky person, just like you get the cranky person without the disability.
Speaker 0 00:48:55 It can work either way. We all live in that state once in a while. Uh, but yeah, in general, I think people like to have somebody who wants to know about them, and that's what it's all about. I think, uh, I want to chime in, I think we should take a page from the children who are at times to the chagrin of their parents or bold and say, what happened to your eye? Let's just talk about it. Let's just share it. I'm willing to share, but you gotta ask me. I'm not, you know, I can't just stand on the corner and say, okay, well, my, yeah, but I think, I think we are sometimes a society where we take care of ourselves and, Oh, well, yeah, that person, well, well, they probably can't do much and I don't think that's fair. And I think, I think sometimes children have a better handle on it, but it gets stifled as they get older.
Speaker 0 00:49:53 Yeah. Yeah. And I do think you'll find some people who will share more than others and that's, that's anybody, you know, regardless of their disability or age or race or anything, some people are willing to talk your head off about it. Other people they're, they're quick. And they say what they, and for whatever reasons, right. They may have been shamed themselves. They may have had people tease them mercilessly. They may, or they may be brought up in a very accepting, supportive family that can make all the difference. And I think that those kinds of things are what we need to all be aware of, but the more I think conversation happens and the more understanding happens, um, the more human sides I think come out of everything.
Speaker 2 00:50:45 Yeah. That's beautiful.
Speaker 0 00:50:48 So I, I commend you guys for having this, this month. I had no idea that this existed and I think that's great. Um, and I commend, was it Shelly, who has so much information on it? Right. Did she, is she the one who started it? Who started it?
Speaker 2 00:51:08 Yeah. Um, I mean, she, there was a consortium of Jewish educators and some rabbis, but she kinda was the one spearheading it. Uh, and it just kinda grew, you know, grew out of this idea 35 years ago. And, uh, and it's just kind of grown and blossomed and, uh, and taken off, uh, all on its own. Um, but she, you know, pre pandemic was traveling around the world, um, talking about, you know, just the sheer importance of it. And she'd written a book actually as well, uh, about belonging. Uh, specifically
Speaker 0 00:51:45 We need to get her on our show.
Speaker 3 00:51:48 I will say the idea that,
Speaker 0 00:51:50 And not now I don't always get out much. So, but the idea that I have not heard about this means you guys need to talk a whole lot more
Speaker 2 00:51:59 Well, that, and I know you said when we kind of had our prep call about job coaches, and I think that that's something that, um, um, you know, with the new Biden administration, um, that there's going to be so many more avenues available to support, um, services for people with disabilities and making sure the funding is there. Um, but that, you know, you know, if I can, if I can do a call to action it's for anyone listening who, um, you know, works for a company where they feel like their employer could, you know, kind of take the lead on, um, on bringing in, uh, you know, offering more inclusive employment, uh, and just starting by, you know, talking to some different programs and figuring out, you know, the support that people can have when they were brought in with a job coach, um, just different programs that that's available. I mean, we could, we could just start to see some more transformation happening around, uh, unemployment and underemployment in the disability community. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:53:10 I think that's right. How can people find out more about your company and how can they get your nuts?
Speaker 2 00:53:17 Oh, thanks. I do mine over to is the door it's spelled I S a D O R E C o.com is adore co.com. Um, and, uh, uh, we are, we all are also on Amazon and you can purchase from there. Uh, if you're in the twin cities, you can visit some of your local co-ops are in the wedge Linden Hills, East side co-op. Um, we're also out at the Minnetonka general store now, Western suburbs, uh, third X carries us as well. So you can, um, pick up and share and, uh, and, and reach out to me too. I'm on Instagram. Um, I did a little link to, uh, you know, to this, to this evening as well on there. So you get to see that we, um, we are going to have to wrap it up and I appreciate you coming on. And I will say now we are very, uh, very much a global station now because we have all these podcasts and we have our own cafe app, and we are on the internet at cafe.org/disability and progress.
Speaker 2 00:54:39 So you can feel free to order as well from Amazon she's, as Tasha said. So you can, you don't have to be in Minnesota to get them. You can order anywhere. Yeah. Thank you so much for coming on and good job with your community work and keep, keep it up. I commend him and it was so, so wonderful to hear from you after so long. I'm thrilled to see where you are now. Well, I'm grateful that you are still going strong with your program and just offering so much great advocacy and education, and thank you for this opportunity. I appreciate it. Thank you. I appreciate that
Speaker 0 00:55:24 This has been disability and progress. The views expressed on the show are not necessarily those of cafe or its board of directors. My name is Sam on the hoses. This show. This is Kathy I 90.3, FM Minneapolis and Kathy IDET org. Charlene doll is my research team. Andy Harvey was my engineer. We were speaking with Tasha Kellan. Tasha was talking about her company is adore nut company and as well, Jewish disability. Yeah, Jewish disability, acceptance awareness and inclusion month. Thank you so much for joining us tonight. You can be on my email
[email protected]. Find out what's coming up and ask questions about future shows. Thanks for listening. Good night.
