Be Your Own Boss - empowered employment

You did it!

You helped us reach our financial goal for the Be Your Own Boss – Empowered Employment program in 2021!  Thanks to you we have several budding entrepreneurs who are seeing new possibilities for their futures.

One participant has been earning income from marketing his musical talents, gleaning new opportunities for paid performances and giving guitar lessons.

Debbie, the creator of “Lighthouse Baking” has discovered a great marketing technique for her delicious treats – promoting pre-orders for large batches of mixed sweets for special occasions such as Christmas and Valentines Day.

Fall and winter events in the community offered Kat, a gifted designer and sculptor, opportunities to practice planning and preparing her unique creations for sale. She aspires to have an online outlet for her hand-sculpted jewelry one day. Selling at these local events helps her build confidence and at the same time, shows Open Sky staff how they can support Kat in reaching her goals.

Bookkeeper, Scott, has added new clients. As business grows and Scott gets busier, his mentor is offering next level coaching on things like timing and information management systems.

Your donations mean that these inspiring individuals and other BYOB “grads” are pursuing their dreams and will receive ongoing coaching and mentoring to make their businesses the best they can be.

To expand our capacity to build skills… and community…. for young adults living with ASD, and other social or learning disabilities and/or mental health challenges, Open Sky is working on plans to build a dedicated workshop, or as one of our friends calls it, a “maker-space” in 2022. This space will mean we can serve more people and build new possibilities for the future. Watch for details as to how you can help with this next exciting project at Open Sky Co-operative.

Sending you so much gratitude for your generosity!