Disability Resources Incorporated
Handy with Candy: Nonprofit
agency sinks its teeth into confectionery work
February 10, 2004
By Staci Semrad / Reporter-News Staff Writer
Mint melt-away bars, pecan turtles, macadamia
clusters and chocolate-covered strawberries
form only part of the tempting lineup at Sweet
Retreat Chocolates.
Previously at South Abilene locations, the
confectionery moved in April to Disability Resources
Inc., 3602 N. Clack St., creating a sweet arrangement
for business owner Erin Schroeder. A nonprofit
agency, DRI provides residential care, training
and jobs for people with developmental disabilities.
Schroeder, 35, opened her first Sweet Retreat
Chocolates in 1999 after paying a one-time franchise
fee of $50,000 to the original business in Ruidoso,
N.M. Schroeder had been looking for a business
to develop as her own after working in banking
for several years.
In early 2001, she moved from her first location
in the Mall of Abilene to one on South 27th
Street, and over the next two years saw her
business triple. Holidays especially kept her
and two part-time workers busy. Last February,
they dipped thousands of strawberries in chocolate
for valentine orders, she said.
"After that last Valentine’s, I was
just" exhausted, Schroeder said.
Schroeder and her husband got the idea to involve
DRI in the business while attending a DRI banquet
last spring. A video was shown about the different
products made by the people DRI assists —
DRI refers to them as its "folks"
— prompting Schroeder to consider a resource
she hadn’t thought to tap.
DRI came to look at her store, liked the concept
and bought her equipment, she said, but she
retained ownership of the business. DRI keeps
the profits, minus a 5 percent monthly royalty
on gross sales paid to Schroeder, she said.
Schroeder trained the DRI workers and continues
to help market the business through word of
mouth and by taking samples to potential corporate
clients.
"I have the best of both worlds,"
she said. "I can still keep my hand in
it, but I don’t have to be here every day."
DRI vocational supervisor Dorothy Lewis runs
the shop at DRI and oversees the work of DRI’s
folks. The team works in a spacious and bright
room that functions as a confectionery and candy
shop.
The trickiest part of the job is keeping the
chocolate at the right temperature, Lewis said,
while the fun part is working with the people
who make the sweets.
Christi McKinney, 47, is one of five DRI clients
who assist Lewis in the production process —
from filling molds with chocolate and placing
them in the refrigerator to removing the chocolates
from their molds and wrapping them for sale.
"I like to tie the strings," McKinney
said, securing in plastic a dog bone-shaped
chocolate piece. "I always tie it tight,
then I put a label on the back."
Schroeder said she is pleased with the DRI
team’s work and quality.
"They keep it so neat and clean,"
she said. "They do such a good job and
are conscious of everything going on."
Schroeder isn’t the only one smiling.
Bill Brant, president and chief executive officer
of DRI, said the people at his organization
benefit, too.
"This is great for us. We have an ongoing
enterprise that has a good market share in Abilene,"
he said. "Our folks benefit from the fact
that they make the candy, and that obviously
increases their skills, and the customers love
the product. So everybody wins."
DETAILS
Sweet Retreat Chocolates are available at Disability
Resources Inc, 3602 N. Clack St., phone 677-0866.
|
