SNOW HILL – A local business owner is hoping a nationwide contest could help her bring more jobs to adults with disabilities.
Kim Shanahan, owner of Gifts Fulfilled, is hoping to win a $25,000 grant through this year’s SCORE/Sam’s Club small business contest, themed “What Makes Your Business Unique.” The funding would allow her business, which employs clients of the Worcester County Developmental Center (WCDC), to expand.
“When I saw the theme I thought this would be a great way to get the word out about what we do,” she said.
Shanahan started Gifts Fulfilled, a company that sells special occasion gift baskets, in 2015 with the intention of building a business to provide employment opportunities for adults with disabilities.
“I first started thinking about employing disabled adults about six years ago when I was pregnant,” she said. “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. I realized a business could be set up in such a way as to employ disabled people, and the fire was lit in my heart to make it happen.”
She teamed up with WCDC once Gifts Fulfilled was created. Twice a week seven of the center’s clients work to assemble gift baskets, which are later sold locally and by Amazon.
“It allows us to do assembly line work which is perfect for the (WCDC) clients,” she said.
Shanahan sees the business as a way to provide job opportunities for those with disabilities.
“I like to say differently abled rather than disability,” she said. “Everyone has talents.”
She’d like to grow the business to the point that it has its own facility and can employ as many as 20 people. She wants 90 percent of the company to be made up of adults with disabilities.
“It’s about providing jobs for a group of people that have trouble getting jobs,” she said.
With the SCORE/Sam’s Club contest, Gifts Fulfilled has the potential to win one of three $25,000 grants or one of two $1,000 prizes that will be awarded in each state. Winners will also receive mentorship from SCORE, a volunteer organization of retired business executives who provide guidance to small businesses.
To enter the contest, Shanahan simply had to describe how her business made a positive impact on the community and how Gifts Fulfilled would benefit from a financial grant and business mentorship. She also created a slideshow highlighting the business and its employees.
She’s thrilled that in the roughly one week it’s been on the online contest entry page Gifts Fulfilled has already received more than 5,500 votes. She’s hopeful the community will continue to vote for her business until the online voting period ends Feb. 20.
“Being able to help others is what we’re about,” she said. “Our company is all about providing jobs. We’d really like to get into our own facility.”
Winners of the contest will be based on public voting as well as judging by small business experts. Winners will be announced in September.
To vote for Gifts Fulfilled, simply visit the link posted on Worcester County Developmental Center’s Facebook page or go to https://championship.score.org/contest_entries/217180.
