Roughly 75% of the employees at the nonprofit identify as having a disability, and the goal is to help them find meaningful work through the movie theater or the popcorn business.
World Down Syndrome Day is Tuesday, and one nonprofit in Ridgefield is “Down To Sparkle.”
That is the name of their new popcorn flavor. The limited time treat from Prospector Popcorn is designed to honor the employees that make the gourmet popcorn, serve it at a Connecticut movie theater, and ship it around the country.
The aim is to help people with disabilities find inclusive employment.
There is one thing that makes a trip to the movies complete:
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“Popcorn!” Timmy Harman with Prospect Popcorn said.
Nobody knows that better than Harman.
“Timmy is a master popcornista,” Ryan Wenke, The Prospector director of operations and technology, said.
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Harman works at the Prospector Theater in Ridgefield.
“What things do you do in the kitchen specifically?” Wenke said.
“Bagging,” Harman said.
“Bagging, mixing, right?” Wenke said.
Not only can visitors to the theatre enjoy the silver screen, but also the gourmet popcorn.
“Flavors like strawberry ice cream, Belgian chocolate, toffee, classic caramel,” Wenke said.
Now there is a new flavor for World Down Syndrome Day called Down To Sparkle.
“Pretzels, marshmallows, all the good stuff here,” Wenke explained with Harman.
The flavor honors people like Harman, and many other employees at The Prospector with Down syndrome.
The Prospector employs 125 people, and about 75% of them identify as having a disability.
“Meaningful employment for those of us with disabilities is so crucial, because we aren't getting those opportunities from other employers,” Wenke said.
Wenke said there is plenty of opportunity through Prospector Popcorn, which ships to all 50 states.
“There's so many jobs that go into one bag,” Wenke said. “You need to pop the popcorn, you have to mix and bake the popcorn. You need a marketing team to promote the popcorn. We have our production team that makes the graphics in the front of the bag. We have a development team.”
Everyone gets paid above minimum wage.
Anyone who buys the popcorn supports The Prospector’s mission of inclusive employment.
“We are a very talented untapped workforce,” Wenke said.
Just over 79% of Americans with disabilities do not have a job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Prospector aims to change that, believing meaningful employment can improve mental, social and financial wellbeing.
Harman showed off his latest paycheck. He said he finds fulfillment in his career, not just from the camaraderie, but also because of the independence it gives him.
“We've had many Prospects working here that have been able to move out their parents’ home, buy their first car, rent out their first apartment,” Wenke said.
All while serving the community. It’s an opportunity those at The Prospector believe should be the norm.
“It doesn't have to be a popcorn business to adopt this model of meaningful employment. It could be a garden, it could be a coffee shop,” Wenke said. “We don't want to be the only player in Connecticut or in town doing this. There's others that are doing it and we love that. But we want employers to take notice and to adopt our hiring practices to really pay more attention to inclusive hiring.”
The Prospect Theater is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and is a four-screen first-run movie theater. Anyone who wants to order Prospect Popcorn can do so online at prospectorpopcorn.org and support their mission.
Timmy Harman is also a TikTok star, and his videos are up on The Prospector Theater's page.
