Green Pad Living is a family business that is owned and operated by Jackie Giordano. The company manufactures and retails a line of environmentally conscious body care products. All of their products are natural and include chemical, gluten, and dairy free body salts, shampoo bars, body soaps, shea butters, and shaving bars. Because of the approach that Jackie uses to manufacture her body care products, they have been very popular among her community and wholesalers and Jackie has had to move her business out of her home and into a shop in Kimberton, PA. Green Pad Living products are now frequently sold at Whole Foods, Wegman’s and local specialty shops.
When Mary, a student in transition at a local high school, and Community Integrated Services, approached Jackie about employment for Mary, she was welcomed with open arms. As a new business, Mary’s hours were initially limited. Mary started off doing one specific task at work, labeling salt and soap bags but owner Jackie focused on Mary’s abilities to help her become successful at Green Pad Living. Using grant money provided through the DD Council PA Employment Reform Project and other resources, CIS was able to purchase resources for Green Pad Living on Mary’s behalf, and in turn increase Mary’s employment potential with Green Pad Living. These resources include a Point of Sale System, hot water heater, and the computer tablet, I-Pad, which will allow Mary to learn new skills, work more hours, and become more independent in her job.These new resources will also allow Green Pad Living to expand their product distribution and customer base. During interest based negotiations with Jackie, it was revealed that the hot water heater in their retail spaced only provided about 5 minutes of hot water. This limited production, as hot water is crucial in producing the product. Now with a larger hot water heater, Green Pad Livings production, profits, and Mary’s hours and skills are able to increase.
The business is currently in the process of opening a retail site and the point of sale system is a greatly needed resource. This new system will provide more opportunities for Green Pad Living and more hours and customer service experience for Mary. The I-Pad computer tablet will allow Mary to do inventory, take pictures of displays, and run credit cards at local Farmer’s Markets where Green Living products are sold. Mary’s success at Green Pad Living can be attributed to her own hard work and Jackie’s willingness to think outside the box. We are very excited to see Mary’s transition from high school to a valued member of Green Pad Living!
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