MY POSSIBILITIES AND SOAP HOPE JOIN FORCES, LAUNCH INCLUSIVE EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE
Leading North Texas disabilities nonprofit obtains ecommerce retailer, creating jobs, opportunity and hope
APRIL 8, 2020 – PLANO, TX – My Possibilities, the leader in vocational education for adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) in North Texas, has merged e-commerce retailer Soap Hope into its mission to train, employ, and support people with IDD.
Soap Hope has been an online retailer offering thousands of natural home and body care products for home delivery, serving customers through the U.S. who order products online. Soap Hope carries over fifty national and specialty brands including leading makers like Dr. Bronner’s, Badger, Schmidt’s, and Indigo Wild.
After a year of planning between the two organizations, Soap Hope is now fully integrated into the mission of My Possibilities, known by supporters as MP. The newly merged Soap Hope will serve as a curriculum for MP students. It will also employ individuals with disabilities in job roles throughout the organization including warehouse, shipping, and assembly. Profits generated by the social enterprise will help fund My Possibilities’ nonprofit work.
Participants in My Possibilities’ programs are known as Hugely Important People, or HIPsters. In addition to vocational education, MP’s programs encourage HIPsters to express their interests in the arts, fitness, leadership, and more.
The integration of Soap Hope is the first in a series of planned social enterprises, organized under the agency’s innovative “MPact” initiative. In 2019, MP launched MPact as a Texas Public Benefit Corporation to demonstrate the value of inclusive employment of people both with and without disabilities.
My Possibilities Executive Director Michael Thomas noted, “MPact has become a powerful bridge between educational programming and a workforce that increasingly seeks to employ individuals with disabilities.” Thomas also expects MPact to be a key driver of sustainability for My Possibilities, generating revenue that will enable MP to serve even more individuals.
“Bringing Soap Hope into MPact is a very exciting development for My Possibilities,” Thomas said. “Our HIPsters are gaining firsthand work experience, proving that inclusive employment for people with disabilities works. We’re also demonstrating how a business can focus on its impact on the world as much as it does its profits.”
Thomas is encouraging people throughout the country to support individuals with IDD through the simple act of shopping at Soap Hope for everyday goods. “Even before this project began, I was a huge Soap Hope fan – it has so many great, healthy products that everyone needs for their household. Now that we’ve made the company 100 percent about inclusive employment for folks with disabilities, it’s an even more perfect place to shop. I encourage everyone to visit the Soap Hope website, especially those who care about people like our HIPsters.”
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About My Possibilities:
My Possibilities is a North Texas for-cause 501(c)(3) organization that serves as a pioneering leader in vocational education for adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities throughout North Texas. To learn more, visit mypossibilities.org.
About Soap Hope:
Soap Hope offers thousands of top brand everyday natural and organic products shipped directly to customers at home. As an MPact company for inclusive employment, Soap Hope trains, employs, and supports individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. Profits from every Soap Hope order support My Possibilities and its Hugely Important People, known as HIPsters. To learn more and shop, visit soaphope.com.
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