Speaker 1: You know, does have redeeming qualities. Jerry Shemel first of
Speaker 1: all superhuman being. And now he has taken on a
Speaker 1: new task, and that is to support an organization that
Speaker 1: does its best to support people who have developmental disabilities
Speaker 1: live life to the absolute fullest and achieve their highest dreams.
Speaker 1: And now Jerry Shemmel joining me to talk about it. Hi, Jerry,
Speaker 1: how you doing? Mandy?
Speaker 2: I'm great, how are you doing? Really good to talk
Speaker 2: to you.
Speaker 1: It's very good to talk to you as well. My friend.
Speaker 1: You know, Jerry, I did not know that you had
Speaker 1: a grandson who has Down syndrome.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, it was a shock to us. He's two
Speaker 2: years old. We didn't know that that was going to
Speaker 2: be that way. We weren't given any indication that he
Speaker 2: had anything wrong with him. Looked like a perfect healthy
Speaker 2: baby when he came out down syndrome. And Mandy, when
Speaker 2: when I first heard that news, I was shocked, I
Speaker 2: was depressed. I was down. And then I started doing
Speaker 2: research on Down Center kids and everybody's like, congratulations, it's
Speaker 2: the greatest thing you it's ever going to happen to you.
Speaker 2: It's the greatest blessing you're ever going to have, and
Speaker 2: it's turned out that way for the last two years,
Speaker 2: Little Henry couldn't be more of a joy to me
Speaker 2: in my life.
Speaker 1: So Jerry, years and years ago, like when you and
Speaker 1: I were young, back in the olden times, when you
Speaker 1: had a child that had Down syndrome or so some
Speaker 1: other developmental delay, they were sort of kind of, for
Speaker 1: lack of the better way to put it, warehoused a
Speaker 1: little bit, right. They were just kind of put on
Speaker 1: a shelf. You were told they were never going to
Speaker 1: accomplish anything, and they, you know, they just had to
Speaker 1: kind of live like a lump of coal, I guess.
Speaker 1: But now we see the exact opposite, and I'm guessing
Speaker 1: that Best Day Ministries has tapped into the notion that
Speaker 1: people with Down syndrome can do a.
Speaker 2: Lot, absolutely absolutely, and they're just bundles of joy as well.
Speaker 2: And no, Henryson only too, Mandy. But I know through
Speaker 2: this ministry lots of adults with Down syndrome, and you
Speaker 2: know what, I want to live my life the way
Speaker 2: they've lived their life. They don't complain, they don't criticize,
Speaker 2: they don't judge, they measure life. But how many hugs
Speaker 2: they can get people and how much joy they can
Speaker 2: bring people. That's the way I want to live my life.
Speaker 2: So not only are we seeing a change in how
Speaker 2: people look at and treat people downstair them for any
Speaker 2: kind of disability, but I think we're seeing the blessing
Speaker 2: that comes along with that as well, And that's what
Speaker 2: this ministry is all about. Best Day Ministries is threefold.
Speaker 2: They have an online business center where adults with disabilities
Speaker 2: can make their projects and sell them have to help
Speaker 2: to make and sell their projects online. They got this
Speaker 2: coffee shop, and they've got a church that they do
Speaker 2: once a month so and all led by disabled our
Speaker 2: adults with disability. So it's a credible, beautiful ministry. I'm
Speaker 2: learning from it and I couldn't be more excited about
Speaker 2: being involved in it.
Speaker 1: When I was very young, my mother was the activities
Speaker 1: director for what was at the time called the Columbia
Speaker 1: Association for Retarded Citizens and it was the first time
Speaker 1: in my life. I'm like ten, eleven, twelve years old,
Speaker 1: it was the first time I was around people and
Speaker 1: these were all adults that had developmental disabilities. It was
Speaker 1: probably the greatest thing that could have happened to our
Speaker 1: family in in terms of learning about folks who are
Speaker 1: trying to make a living and trying to be productive
Speaker 1: members of society. And you know what, maybe somebody with
Speaker 1: Down syndrome isn't going to cure cancer, right, but they
Speaker 1: can work in a coffee shop. And this is a
Speaker 1: group of people that are historically under employed at drastic levels.
Speaker 1: But does best day ministries provide opportunities to learn some
Speaker 1: of those life skills you just mentioned a coffee shop.
Speaker 1: Tell me about that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, coffee shop's a great example that, Mandy. They employ
Speaker 2: sixteen adults with disabilities, sixteen different people. It's not a
Speaker 2: great business model when you want to make money. They
Speaker 2: couldn't get the extra costs, have coaches that are on
Speaker 2: site as well that help these people, and so you
Speaker 2: got to pay them as well. So it's not the
Speaker 2: best foundation for making money at a coffee shop, but
Speaker 2: it's what this ministry wants to do. They employ sixteen
Speaker 2: special needs adults anywhere from down center to autism to
Speaker 2: dramatic brain injuries, straight physical disabilities. There are people wheelchairs
Speaker 2: that are working there. And for many of them, Mandy,
Speaker 2: like you're getting that, it's their first job. It's the
Speaker 2: first time they're gainfully employed. And not only are they
Speaker 2: making money, that's secondary. What it does for their life,
Speaker 2: the value, what they can bring to society, how it
Speaker 2: makes them feel, how it makes their family and their
Speaker 2: parents feel, is invaluable. And I'm seeing this and people
Speaker 2: are just giddy about working at this coffee shop. And
Speaker 2: they're sixteen of these people that wouldn't be employed otherwise,
Speaker 2: And think big majority of them are working for the
Speaker 2: first time their lives as adults.
Speaker 1: And that's the thing. It's like what they're you know,
Speaker 1: they're just like us, Jerry. We want to feel like
Speaker 1: we have p right. We want to have a reason
Speaker 1: to get up in the morning. And people with Down
Speaker 1: syndrome or other developmental disabilities like autism, they have that
Speaker 1: same drive, but they don't usually get the same opportunities.
Speaker 1: So how can people I'm assuming Best Day is going
Speaker 1: to be a part of Colorado Gives Day.
Speaker 2: Yes, it is that, And they have a website that's
Speaker 2: got a new platform to it, and I'm helping them
Speaker 2: raise money and get exposure, which I'm doing today. Manny,
Speaker 2: thank you for having beyond that. It's best Daysministry dot org.
Speaker 2: Best Day's Ministries dot org. So it's like I said,
Speaker 2: it's threefold and they're vastly underfunded and I'm trying to
Speaker 2: help them get to where they're financially solving a little bit.
Speaker 2: So anybody has an idea notion to help out. And
Speaker 2: incredibly beautiful ministry that services adults with disabilities, Best Dayministries
Speaker 2: dot Org is the place to go. It really is
Speaker 2: a beautiful thing and I will put it.
Speaker 1: On my I do a blog every Colorado gives Day
Speaker 1: with organizations that I think are doing a really good job.
Speaker 1: But I want to ask you something about if someone
Speaker 1: owns a business, are there opportunities to maybe bring some
Speaker 1: of these people into your business? And I say this
Speaker 1: because I have now over three different markets, had the
Speaker 1: opportunity to see how when you let people know, Look,
Speaker 1: if you want somebody who's going to show up and
Speaker 1: be the brightest star on your you know, on your
Speaker 1: crew every single day, if you're willing to work with
Speaker 1: them and work within what their capabilities are, you will
Speaker 1: have a crew member that will never leave you, that
Speaker 1: will never you know, give you a hard time, that
Speaker 1: doesn't show up late, that doesn't call in sick. And
Speaker 1: it's remarkable to see how once you get into the community,
Speaker 1: what people begin to see the possibilities are. And I
Speaker 1: think that's part of the mission here, isn't it just
Speaker 1: show people their possibilities.
Speaker 2: Yes, exactly, Mandy, that that's a big part of this ministry.
Speaker 2: And you're right, And there are other businesses out there,
Speaker 2: and this one has kind of modeled their program after
Speaker 2: some of the others. There's an ice cream shop I
Speaker 2: know in Aurora where I used to take my grandson
Speaker 2: before they move that employee special needs adults. And other
Speaker 2: coffee shops do it, and other businesses do it, and
Speaker 2: once a while you'll see those sorts of people at
Speaker 2: chickpil A. There's a lot of different opportunities for these individuals.
Speaker 2: What we have in this coffee shop is sixteen of
Speaker 2: those working in the same spot and it just becomes beautiful.
Speaker 2: And if you ever get to this coffee shop, and
Speaker 2: I just people love going there, Mandy, because you see
Speaker 2: what is happening behind the counter and you just you're
Speaker 2: amazed by it, especially these people running a coffee shop,
Speaker 2: and it makes your heart stir a little bit and
Speaker 2: it makes you smile. And there's not a single person
Speaker 2: I've known that has not gone in that place and
Speaker 2: come out different, come out affected by it, watching what
Speaker 2: is happening in that special place. So yeah, what you're
Speaker 2: getting at is that there are other opportunities, or there
Speaker 2: should be, for other businesses to people in this capacity.
Speaker 2: And I think it's probably growing that way, and I
Speaker 2: think Best Day Ministries has probably opened the door for
Speaker 2: other businesses to look at that and be that model
Speaker 2: for them.
Speaker 1: Where is the coffee shop? It's the best Day ever
Speaker 1: a coffee and crape shop. Where is that?
Speaker 2: It is in downtown Longmont, Colorado, Okay on Kaufman Street.
Speaker 1: Okay, really easy to get to.
Speaker 2: I don't know if you've been to Longmont before. Beautiful downtown.
Speaker 2: It's a great little place I have And.
Speaker 1: I'm looking at the coffee prices. They're very affordable. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's a pretty affordable thing. Kerry. I know that you
Speaker 1: are a man with a big heart, and I love
Speaker 1: that you're working with Best Day Ministries to bring that
Speaker 1: the sort of the message to us here in the
Speaker 1: larger metro area. Do you know if they have any
Speaker 1: plans or the ability to scale to other areas.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, there are plans. There is a lot of
Speaker 2: talk that way. I think it's probably going to be
Speaker 2: a slower process because and you could certainly look at
Speaker 2: a franchise Moble or fast food does, but it's not
Speaker 2: a business model. It's hard to make money. Would employ
Speaker 2: sixteen special needs adults in a coffee shop, and I'll
Speaker 2: be honest with you, they're not your typical coffee shop
Speaker 2: employee at Starbucks that knows how to make You've got
Speaker 2: to train them, and they're at slower and they're less efficient.
Speaker 2: But that's the whole idea is to give them opportunities.
Speaker 2: So yes, there is talk about that. In fact that
Speaker 2: Joe Truett, one of the owners that he and his
Speaker 2: wife started this whole ministry, was telling me the other
Speaker 2: day that there's a development and Boulder that wants to
Speaker 2: put that coffee shop, another best day ever coffee shop
Speaker 2: in one of their developments in their shopping center. So yes,
Speaker 2: there's a lot of talk that way, and I think
Speaker 2: it will happen. I don't know how quickly. These things
Speaker 2: probably go slower than what you ever expect, but yeah,
Speaker 2: there are plans and certainly a lot of talk to
Speaker 2: expand it and make it not only more coffee shops,
Speaker 2: but other businesses. Doing the same thing.
Speaker 1: So apparently they're working on you. Which is going to
Speaker 1: be a shop where you can buy stuffs that already
Speaker 1: up and running.
Speaker 2: It is it's in the coffee shop.
Speaker 1: Oh wow.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they have yeah them online presence as well. But
Speaker 2: they're goods that special needs adults makes kids do for
Speaker 2: that matter, are in the store. You can see samples
Speaker 2: of them, you can buy them there, but their big
Speaker 2: presence is online. And not just in this area, Manny,
Speaker 2: but all across the world. They got special needs people
Speaker 2: making all kinds of things, not only the United States
Speaker 2: but overseas. So another beautiful ministry, just another opportunity for
Speaker 2: adults with special needs to be out there, to feel valuable,
Speaker 2: to make a product and sell a product and make
Speaker 2: some money in the product and feel great about it.
Speaker 2: And you should, Manny. I hope you get to the
Speaker 2: coffee shop someday because if you see some of the
Speaker 2: things these people make, you'll be blown away. I was
Speaker 2: in there buying Christmas gifts the other day and stock
Speaker 2: the back of my car with them.
Speaker 1: Oh that's fantastic. The next time I'm in long Lunch,
Speaker 1: I go to Long Munt for two things. I go
Speaker 1: for Georgia Boys Bar and the Cheese Importers. And now
Speaker 1: I'll have to add Best Day Ministries Coffee Shop to
Speaker 1: that list. I'll just do a circuit when I get
Speaker 1: to along line.
Speaker 2: Jerry, you know what, The coffee shop is kind of
Speaker 2: right between those two businesses.
Speaker 1: Oh perfect, Oh excellent. That makes it even easier for
Speaker 1: me to find my way.
Speaker 2: Jerry.
Speaker 1: It is so good to talk to you, my friend,
Speaker 1: and thank you for all you do. And I'm going
Speaker 1: to put Best Day Ministries on my annual Colorado Gives
Speaker 1: Day list, So if people would like to contribute, make
Speaker 1: a donation, find out more that will be available for
Speaker 1: them on the website.
Speaker 2: Outstanding. I appreciate it, Mandy, all.
Speaker 1: Right, Jerry, we'll talk again soon. That is Jerry Shimmel
Speaker 1: one of the best. He's just one of the best
Speaker 1: human beings, truly,