Celebrating National Donut Day with Do Good Donuts
by Maya Drennan
June 3rd, 2022
June 3rd is National Donut day and to celebrate we want to shed light on the inspiring journey of Melanie Cote and her venture - Do Good Donuts.
Do Good Donuts and Cafe (opens in new window) is an employment enterprise that aims to make employment opportunities accessible by training youth with intellectual disabilities to thrive in mainstream service jobs. Do Good Donuts does a spectacular job at baking dozens of different flavor options, while providing employment opportunities to youth with disabilities, so that they can build their skills and become prepared for other service jobs.
Do Good Donuts all began when Melanie, a mother of a child with Williams Syndrome, observed that there were not many youth with disabilities working in her community. People with intellectual disabilities such as autism, Down's syndrome and Williams syndrome face an unemployment rate of 85%, despite the fact that many would love to have employment opportunities and would be spectacular workers. Often it is assumed that work is beyond their grasp, however when given the right tools and support, many youth with disabilities are very capable of fulfilling these roles. People with intellectual disabilities deserve to be employed in the community, and should have the opportunity to work alongside people of all abilities.
There's an idea people have that someone with Williams Syndrome like my daughter, or Down Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder or other similar disabilities just can’t do the job. I have met so many amazing young adults that prove that wrong every day. But until there is better representation in the community, the perception will remain.
The goal of Do Good Donuts is to change minds about hiring people with disabilities, by providing a platform at which they can be trained in a service role in order to learn transferable skills that will help them succeed in other food service jobs, such as restaurants like Tim Hortons.
This summer, Do Good Donuts aims to employ twice as many young people with disabilities and sell twice as many donuts, with the goal of raising the funds to begin opening a full cafe and bakery in Toronto, with full time staff.
And the future of Do Good Donuts is already looking bright. During the summer of 2021, 5000 donuts were sold in total. Not only will they be making an appearance at two markets instead of one this summer, but there will also be double the trainees.
You can try a delicious treat by visiting Do Good Donuts at the High Park Community Market (external link) and the Leslieville Farmers Market (external link) this summer. You can bring your family and friends to enjoy a rainbow sprinkled afternoon at High Park from 7-9 pm each Thursday beginning June 9th, and from 9 am until 2 pm each Sunday at the Leslieville Farmers Market!
Happy National Donut Day!
