The Worcester County Developmental Center (WCDC), which empowers individuals with intellectual disabilities to achieve economic and social independence by providing work opportunities and supports, has recently partnered with Gifts Fulfilled, a new business in Worcester County, to have the clients assemble gift baskets at the Newark, Md. center.
Gifts Fulfilled is new to the Eastern Shore, but owner Kim Shanahan is an industry expert with more than 17 years of experience in the gift industry. Having spent the last seven years visiting Ocean City each summer for family reunions, Shanahan was thrilled when her husband’s next military move got them close enough to Ocean City to live there permanently. Finding out about the WCDC through her local business networking group (BNI) was the icing on the cake.
“I first started thinking about employing disabled adults five years ago when I was pregnant. As a mature woman in pregnancy there are more risks and I began to wonder how I would help my child if it were born with a disability,” she said. “I realized my business could be set up in such a way as to employ disabled people and the fire was lit in my heart to make that happen.”
“The partnership with the WCDC has been amazing,” she continued. “Having the extra hands during the holidays helped us fulfill over 100 orders for our Holiday Favorites gift box that would have been impossible to get done without them.”
Next up for the WCDC and Gifts Fulfilled will be Valentine’s Day gifts created with love by the clients at the WCDC.
For more information about Gifts Fulfilled, contact Shanahan at 877-800-2665 or at Kim@BookBouquet. For more information about WCDC and its programs, contact Jack Ferry, executive director of WCDC, at 410-632-2809 ext 117 or ferry@wcdcservices.org.
Gifts Fulfilled is new to the Eastern Shore, but owner Kim Shanahan is an industry expert with more than 17 years of experience in the gift industry. Having spent the last seven years visiting Ocean City each summer for family reunions, Shanahan was thrilled when her husband’s next military move got them close enough to Ocean City to live there permanently. Finding out about the WCDC through her local business networking group (BNI) was the icing on the cake.
“I first started thinking about employing disabled adults five years ago when I was pregnant. As a mature woman in pregnancy there are more risks and I began to wonder how I would help my child if it were born with a disability,” she said. “I realized my business could be set up in such a way as to employ disabled people and the fire was lit in my heart to make that happen.”
“The partnership with the WCDC has been amazing,” she continued. “Having the extra hands during the holidays helped us fulfill over 100 orders for our Holiday Favorites gift box that would have been impossible to get done without them.”
Next up for the WCDC and Gifts Fulfilled will be Valentine’s Day gifts created with love by the clients at the WCDC.
For more information about Gifts Fulfilled, contact Shanahan at 877-800-2665 or at Kim@BookBouquet. For more information about WCDC and its programs, contact Jack Ferry, executive director of WCDC, at 410-632-2809 ext 117 or ferry@wcdcservices.org.