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Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, it's Bill Courtney with an army of normal folks.

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Speaker 1: And we continue now with part two of our conversation

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Speaker 1: with Ruth Thompson, right after these brief messages from our

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Speaker 1: generous sponsors. Okay, now you're open, that's right. So I

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Speaker 1: read that once you open, you started to notice changes

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Speaker 1: in the people who worked there. Tell us about that.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, miss Temka, I'm going to go back to Miss Temkaz.

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Speaker 1: Was she one of the first.

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Speaker 2: She was one of the first. Absolutely, I'll give you

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Speaker 2: a little little background of what our business model started

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Speaker 2: off as and how it changed. Okay, our business model

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Speaker 2: was going to be that we will hire them, employ

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Speaker 2: them for a year to give them great experience, and

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Speaker 2: then we would help them get a job somewhere else.

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Speaker 2: I cannot tell you the number of staff who sat

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Speaker 2: across from me after a year with tears in their

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Speaker 2: eyes and said, you're not going to make me leave,

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Speaker 2: are you? Our business model changed, and Miss Tamika is

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Speaker 2: one of them. Again. She was so so, so quiet,

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Speaker 2: but she got in that kitchen and she took charge.

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Speaker 2: A fun story that I love telling about her. She

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Speaker 2: just wouldn't engage, and she still won't engage, just start

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Speaker 2: a conversation. She does her work and that's what she

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Speaker 2: is supposed to do, and she loves her work. If

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Speaker 2: I get in.

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Speaker 1: Socialization is an issue for autistic folks.

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Speaker 2: It is it is. If I get in the kitchen,

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Speaker 2: she's really funny. She'll roll her eyes at me. She

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Speaker 2: knows I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing anymore.

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Speaker 2: I don't go in the kitchen anymore. But there was

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Speaker 2: a fun story about her. Is everybody had my phone

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Speaker 2: number and our restaurant manager at the time his name

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Speaker 2: was Maria, and I got a phone call one day

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Speaker 2: from Tamika. This is a woman who would not engage

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Speaker 2: in conversation. Hi, miss Ruth, this is Ta Meka. I

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Speaker 2: just want to let you know that I left my

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Speaker 2: paste up on the table that's near the front door.

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Speaker 2: Would you please take care of that for me. I

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Speaker 2: know that your listeners may think that's well, okay, that's

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Speaker 2: a conversation, not a conversation she would have. And I'm going,

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Speaker 2: oh my gosh, somebody else has got to hear this.

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Speaker 2: And I told her, I said, I'm not at the cafe.

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Speaker 2: You'll need to call Maria and let her know and

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Speaker 2: I'm so excited that this woman is now taking charge

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Speaker 2: of her life and calling to let her know, let

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Speaker 2: somebody know that something was left there. That is, this

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Speaker 2: is huge for someone on the spectrum. And as soon

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Speaker 2: as she hung up, I quickly doll Maria and I said,

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Speaker 2: you're going to get a phone call and you're not

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Speaker 2: going to believe who it is or what it's going

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Speaker 2: to be said, but just listen. And she immediately after

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Speaker 2: she talked to me because she called, and we're both

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Speaker 2: on the phone because this woman has taken charge of

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Speaker 2: her life.

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Speaker 1: I read. Confidence doesn't come from someone telling you you're amazing.

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Speaker 1: It comes from doing something hard over and over again

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Speaker 1: and realizing you can do it. That kind of speaks

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Speaker 1: to exactly what's been What started going on there is that,

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Speaker 1: like you said, you didn't treat these folks like mascots, right,

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Speaker 1: You trained them, you held them accountable, You trained them

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Speaker 1: for excellence, and you had them repeat over and over

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Speaker 1: again until they mastered something. And so their confidence as

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Speaker 1: a result of being managed, treated and cared for that way,

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Speaker 1: manifested itself in self confidence that they probably have never

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Speaker 1: had never It's such a broad term. Folks with intellectual disabilities.

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Speaker 1: I don't I don't even know how to say this right,

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Speaker 1: But there are levels of folks with disabilities. So what

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Speaker 1: disabilities are we talking about? And what levels of disability

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Speaker 1: because there's a broad range of folks that are really

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Speaker 1: quote high functioning but can't function completely alone, down to

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Speaker 1: folks like the twelve year old you saw in the stroller.

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Speaker 1: Kind of what's the spectrum of folks that work for you?

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Speaker 1: And what do those disabilities look like?

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Speaker 2: Sure, and that's why it's called a spectrum because it

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Speaker 2: is very broad, and we don't look at what they

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Speaker 2: can't do. We look at what they can do. The

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Speaker 2: biggest concern that we have to look at when we're

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Speaker 2: hiring someone new is behaviors, which sometimes does go along

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Speaker 2: with someone maybe on the autism spectrum. And what we

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Speaker 2: do is we do get references from previous teachers or

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Speaker 2: therapists or things like that. We do have some who,

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Speaker 2: rather than saying lower functioning, we say needs more support.

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Speaker 2: We do have some that, and my husband calls some

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Speaker 2: of them legacy employees because they were part of my

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Speaker 2: class and I couldn't say no when we started hiring everyone.

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Speaker 2: We have one young man who works only on Saturdays,

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Speaker 2: but he and he's been with us for ten years.

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Speaker 2: He repeats the same mantra every Saturday. I had fun

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Speaker 2: at my house last night. I'm going to watch a

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Speaker 2: movie tonight. I'm going to go to the movies with

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Speaker 2: my sister. This is my first time working this day.

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Speaker 2: And so that's his mantra all day long. He does

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Speaker 2: have to we do have community volunteers, and he has

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Speaker 2: to have a community volunteer with him at all times.

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Speaker 2: But he busses tables and he knows what he's supposed

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Speaker 2: to do. He just needs more support.

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Speaker 1: So from there all the way up to pretty high

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Speaker 1: functioning folks like Tamika.

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Speaker 2: Tamika Danny who can go out and speak like nobody's business.

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Speaker 2: We had him speak. We just opened in Dallas, but

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Speaker 2: we were introducing Hugs to Dallas people last year and

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Speaker 2: we had a luncheon in Dallas and we took Danny

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Speaker 2: with us. I spoke, my husband, Chris spoke, our CEO spoke,

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Speaker 2: and Danny spoke. And Danny started off with and he

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Speaker 2: has this monotone voice. Okay, So I'm going to try

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Speaker 2: to do Danny, but he says, okay, folks, I don't

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Speaker 2: know what kind of audience I have, so I'm gonna

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Speaker 2: start off with a joke and then I'll decide what

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Speaker 2: I can say for the rest of the time.

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Speaker 1: I don't remember that it was hilarious exactly.

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Speaker 2: I don't remember his joke, but everyone laughed and he said, Okay,

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Speaker 2: I got a pretty good audio. He is hilarious. He

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Speaker 2: is hilarious. And he will start telling his story. And

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Speaker 2: while Danny has been working for us, his mother passed away,

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Speaker 2: and he talks about that and how much it means

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Speaker 2: to him to have a job, and how much it

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Speaker 2: means to him to be an ambassador. He will tell

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Speaker 2: everyone that he's the number one ambassador. We don't have

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Speaker 2: a number one.

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Speaker 1: But if Danny wants to do, yes, Danny, he's number one.

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Speaker 1: He's number one. That's funny. Yes, here's a thought. I

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Speaker 1: grew my business from nothing, literally started in two thousand

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Speaker 1: and one with seventeen thousand dollars winging in a prayer

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Speaker 1: and dare I say also a dream. Something I learned

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Speaker 1: pretty quickly is success brings its own issues. You think

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Speaker 1: you got issues when you start, then you have success,

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Speaker 1: and then there's more issues. One of the issues I

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Speaker 1: read that you had with your success is that you

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Speaker 1: had more applicants than you had spaces. Tell us about that.

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Speaker 2: We did. We hired everyone and then we started getting

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Speaker 2: more applicat and more applicants. The special needs world is

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Speaker 2: very close knit, and we were getting applications from people

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Speaker 2: down in Dallas. We're forty five minutes from Dallas. But

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Speaker 2: people who wanted their loved ones to have a job,

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Speaker 2: or loved ones who wanted to have a people with autism,

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Speaker 2: people with down syndrome who wanted to have a job.

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Speaker 2: We had a stack a mile long of applicants. That's

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Speaker 2: when we said, we've got to do more. What can

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Speaker 2: we do? So in twenty eighteen we started Hugs Greenhouse.

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Speaker 1: I know, it's so funny.

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Speaker 2: So I visited an organization down in near Katie, Texas,

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Speaker 2: which is near Houston, and it's called Brookwood. It started

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Speaker 2: out as a it starated as a little day program,

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Speaker 2: but now it's a huge residential I think they've got

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Speaker 2: like seventy acres. It's been in existence for fifty years

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Speaker 2: and they have day programs where anyone with a disability,

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Speaker 2: regardless of what the disability is, they do pottery and

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Speaker 2: they have a horticulture program and they make things by hand,

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Speaker 2: so it's kind of like a workshop. But because they're

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Speaker 2: not with the public, we are public facing, which makes

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Speaker 2: us not a workshop. But had god dad and visited

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Speaker 2: them and saw that they had this incredible horticulture program,

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Speaker 2: Well why can't we do that? And so I, okay,

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Speaker 2: I decided, let's I don't know how to grow things.

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Speaker 2: I did grow up on a farm in Georgia, but

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Speaker 2: I have killed plants more than not. My poor daddy

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Speaker 2: would just roll over in his grave the way I

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Speaker 2: kill plants. But somebody out there has to know how

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Speaker 2: to do this. I put a Facebook post out that

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Speaker 2: this is what I want to do. I want to

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Speaker 2: start a horticulture program with hugs. I don't know how

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Speaker 2: to do it, but I'm going to have a meeting.

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Speaker 2: I'm going to have a meeting on this night, at

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Speaker 2: this time at the cafe, and I hope that somebody

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Speaker 2: somewhere wants to help us with this and will join me.

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Speaker 2: I had three people who provide flowers to the Dallas

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Speaker 2: Arboretum show. I had another gentleman who had a was

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Speaker 2: fourth generation flower grower. He was there and then our

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Speaker 2: handyman showed up and I'm asking them what do I need?

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Speaker 2: And they're telling me, Okay, first of all, you need land.

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Speaker 2: It needs to be zoned agriculture. It needs to be

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Speaker 2: outside of the city limits. It needs to be here,

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Speaker 2: and you need to do this. Okay, well, where are

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Speaker 2: we going to find that? Give me some ideas. Our

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Speaker 2: handyman said, our house is on thirty two acres in

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Speaker 2: the country, zoned agriculture. We're in no one's etj We

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Speaker 2: want you to put it there zero dollars a year.

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Speaker 1: Unreal. Yes, so hugs greenhouse or I think that's what it's.

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Speaker 2: Called, Hugs greenhouse. And then okay, well, I don't know

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Speaker 2: how to grow flowers.

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Speaker 1: Well, the point is some of these applicants you couldn't

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Speaker 1: put to work in the in the restaurant exactly greenhouse.

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Speaker 2: Right, they got it.

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Speaker 1: They need a job, which led to.

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Speaker 2: Well, let me finish telling you about the greenhouse. I'm sorry,

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Speaker 2: but yeah, I'm going Okay. At a restaurant, you've got

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Speaker 2: to have someone there at all times with a manager certification.

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Speaker 2: Do you need something like that? In a greenhouse? You do?

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Speaker 2: You need someone who is insecticide and pesticide certified. Okay,

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Speaker 2: where are we going to get this person? In Texas?

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Speaker 2: A and M. And they were going to, Okay, yeah,

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Speaker 2: maybe you need somebody a new graduate from A and M.

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Speaker 2: Bill Crump, who was fourth generation nursery grower or flower grower,

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Speaker 2: had retired sold all of his and he said, Ruth,

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Speaker 2: I'm tired of being retired. I want to run it

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Speaker 2: for you. Unbelievable, said thank you God.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, so the greenhouse started on Freeland and a free

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Speaker 1: operator who had all the stuff you needed.

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Speaker 2: We do pay Bill a salary.

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Speaker 1: Probably, I'm sure.

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Speaker 2: Right.

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Speaker 1: Unbelievable, unbelievable, And that led to I don't know that

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Speaker 1: the Hugs Home Cooking is that?

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Speaker 2: What was? That's when we started Hugs Home Cooking because

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Speaker 2: there were other you know, we've got this list of

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Speaker 2: people who want a job. We don't have any other

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Speaker 2: opportunities for employment. We don't want to get into the

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Speaker 2: day program situation. But what we can do is offer

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Speaker 2: a class every now and again. So we had other

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Speaker 2: We have others that come in now once a month

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Speaker 2: and take a cooking class from a classic trained chef.

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Speaker 1: Wow, I know, I know it's beautiful.

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Speaker 2: They love it. I mean they learn how to do

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Speaker 2: chicken cord on blue and they love it.

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Speaker 1: We'll be right back. Okay. So here you go. You've

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Speaker 1: got your cafe, you've got the greenhouse, you've got the

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Speaker 1: home cooking thing. Your dream is turning into reality. Yeah, certainly,

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Speaker 1: now it's time to kind of chill. No. No, So

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Speaker 1: I don't know what's next, but I think the training

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Speaker 1: Academy's next. Is that? What's next?

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Speaker 2: The first training Academy.

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Speaker 1: The first training Okay, take us through that and why

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Speaker 1: and what it means and all that. Okay, I and

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Speaker 1: we're talking last year.

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Speaker 2: Actually the training Academy. That's twenty twenty two. We started

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Speaker 2: the first training Academy.

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Speaker 1: Okay.

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Speaker 2: And why did we do that? Because we had this

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Speaker 2: long list of applicants and we can't just keep saying.

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Speaker 1: No, I was, actually you could, no.

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Speaker 2: I was. I joined the board. I was asked to

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Speaker 2: join the board of Directors of the Greater Dallas, Texas

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Speaker 2: Restaurant Association. And I keep hearing the number one challenge

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Speaker 2: from other restaurants is staffing. I said, guys can train them.

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Speaker 2: I can train my people. All you have to do

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Speaker 2: is treat them with kindness and respect. Not Hell's kitchen,

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Speaker 2: but kindness and respect and you've got an employee for life.

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Speaker 2: And I said them before, I hope, and.

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Speaker 1: I got to ask something. Yeah, pragmatically, I'm running a

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Speaker 1: restaurant with fire and gas and hot grease and knives

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Speaker 1: and slippery floors and hot steam and a public that

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Speaker 1: all of that screams liability to me. And then I'm yeah,

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Speaker 1: I need staff and I need well trained staff. But

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Speaker 1: did any of them. Did you get any pushback on

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Speaker 1: can quote they end quote really handle this kind of

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Speaker 1: work and some fear. I mean, I can see pragmatically

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Speaker 1: that you might get pushed back from that.

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Speaker 2: Initially I still do. Yes, I got pushback. I still do.

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Speaker 2: But we do have our job placement people who love

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Speaker 2: what we do. I will name some. Jason Stali loves

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Speaker 2: what we do and hire our people. There's a convention center,

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Speaker 2: Irving Convention Center. They hire our people. We have found

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Speaker 2: that schools, school cafeterias hire our people.

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Speaker 1: Well that's interesting. So you're part of this thing, yes,

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Speaker 1: this greater You're on the board of Greater something rustaurant

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Speaker 1: associate sorryiation, Ye got it. They say they need help,

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Speaker 1: and you say, well, all these people that I can't hire.

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Speaker 1: Let me start a training academy. I'll train them and

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Speaker 1: then find them jobs elsewhere in the same thing. So

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Speaker 1: how to go?

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Speaker 2: Didn't have one person that said I want to be

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Speaker 2: your first first. Yeah, it is still a struggle. And

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Speaker 2: I've been on that board for three years now. Uh,

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Speaker 2: it's still a struggle. I'm also on the Texas Restaurant

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Speaker 2: Association board. It's still a struggle. But I'm not giving up.

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Speaker 2: I'm not going to give up.

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Speaker 1: But it's happening.

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Speaker 2: It is happening. Yes, there are restaurants who are hiring

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Speaker 2: them and and but they're not just rolling silverware. Now

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Speaker 2: we hire, we we train them within the training academy.

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Speaker 2: They leave there with their food handler certification certificate. They

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Speaker 2: leave there knowing having been trained by the local fire

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Speaker 2: department how to put out a fire. I didn't know

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Speaker 2: how to do that until we started Hug's Training Academy

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Speaker 2: and they learn not safety.

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Speaker 1: How many people in this Hugs Training Academy?

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Speaker 2: Yeah right, Neil, our one m McKinney can only handle

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Speaker 2: six students per semester. We're building a building. Then that's good.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, But that's the funny thing is the one in McKinney. So, yeah,

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Speaker 1: that's the twenty twenty five thing.

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Speaker 2: I guess twenty twenty okay, twenty twenty two we started

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Speaker 2: the one m m kinny. Twenty twenty three. I think

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Speaker 2: twenty twenty five is when we started building a building.

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Speaker 2: We started Hugs Training Academy in Dallas in twenty twenty three.

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Speaker 2: I believe it is.

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Speaker 1: What are you building?

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Speaker 2: We're building a world headquarters.

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Speaker 1: That's hilarious. What is a world headquarters for? Where you

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Speaker 1: need a world headquarters for a cafe?

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Speaker 2: Oh? My God, will tell Okay, so we have Okay,

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Speaker 2: now we've got Hugs Training Academy and McKinney six students

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Speaker 2: Hugs Training Academy in Dallas.

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Speaker 1: How many students we can have up.

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Speaker 2: To eight there?

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Speaker 1: Okay.

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Speaker 2: When we open Hugs Training Academy in our new building,

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Speaker 2: we will be able to train up to thirty two

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Speaker 2: students per semester in this building. We will move our

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Speaker 2: restaurant into the building that we will own outright, we're

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Speaker 2: now paying rent. We will own it.

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Speaker 1: So the cafe will be there, still in McKinnie.

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Speaker 2: Still in McKinney. Cafe will be there. Training Academy will

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Speaker 2: be there in a different. We'll have a training kitchen

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Speaker 2: and we can do twelve in the kitchen. We can

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Speaker 2: do three classrooms with twelve in each one, and they'll

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Speaker 2: move back and forth between the class rooms. And we'll

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Speaker 2: have our corporate offices in this building. It's a thirteen

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Speaker 2: thousand square foot building.

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Speaker 1: Good grief, Yeah, and a restaurant and it'll have a

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Speaker 1: rest sounds expensive.

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Speaker 2: Ten million dollars.

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Speaker 1: Where's the ten million dollars coming from?

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Speaker 2: Oh, it's coming from individuals, corporations, grants, foundations.

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Speaker 1: That's a hell of a long way from eight grand

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Speaker 1: from a bank sale.

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Speaker 2: Isn't it though? But we have we right now have

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Speaker 2: six hundred and fifty thousand left to rays of that

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Speaker 2: ten million, and we'll have it. We've got to have

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Speaker 2: it by March first. And we opened a cafe.

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Speaker 1: How many people do you? How many people with disabilities

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Speaker 1: are now being served by this dream?

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Speaker 2: Yeah? We have a total of one hundred and seven employees.

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Speaker 2: Ninety one of them are mission based employees on seventy

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Speaker 2: percent more than yeah, one hundred and seven ninety one,

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Speaker 2: ninety ninety, Yes, our mission based employees. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: How busy is it? So? When I was reading about you,

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Speaker 1: I got online, okay, and I just googled Hugs Cafe McKinney.

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Speaker 1: So I don't even know what your website is, which

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Speaker 1: you'll tell us later. It's WWW's dots something, but I

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Speaker 1: just googled it. I came right up. I hit website,

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Speaker 1: and the first thing I went to, because I'm a

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Speaker 1: fat this is the menu. Yes, yeah, the sandwiches look great.

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Speaker 1: I mean the food looks really really good. I actually

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Speaker 1: wondered what the soup of the day was. I said,

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Speaker 1: soup of the day, and I'm like, going to what

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Speaker 1: soup of the day is today? And I was opening

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Speaker 1: it with something like corn shower to taste soup because

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Speaker 1: I love those, okay, or maybe gumbo and know it

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Speaker 1: had It looks like you're open for breakfast and late

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Speaker 1: lunch up until like three, so it's a it's a

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Speaker 1: it's a it's a diner. It's a breakfast lunch type place.

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Speaker 1: The food looked fantastic. You had pictures of your employees

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Speaker 1: up there. I assume some employees. I think they were

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Speaker 1: all employees. I assume some had disabilities and some did not.

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Speaker 1: I don't know. There was a video of a dude

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Speaker 1: very meticulously chopping an onion. Which kind of went to

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Speaker 1: my head was you know, so many people would not

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Speaker 1: even let this guy near a knife, thinking he cut

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Speaker 1: his fingers off. But your idea is no, let's teach

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Speaker 1: him how to do this, let's raise the expectations. And

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Speaker 1: so as I'm looking at at this whole.

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Speaker 3: Thing, no one thing, what's that, Haiti Beth peach gobbler.

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Speaker 3: Oh you just looked at us.

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Speaker 4: So Alex looked at turkey, bacon, shddarch and housemade peachicutney.

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Speaker 1: I know good. So so as I'm looking at all this,

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Speaker 1: what came to my mind was my roots. I'm a

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Speaker 1: business owner. Profits are a necessary measure of any organization's success,

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Speaker 1: and I'm just a dying to know how many people

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Speaker 1: eat here daily? Is it profitable as a standalone business?

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Speaker 1: How do you drive traffic? I'd love to know the

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Speaker 1: business side of just the cafe, not the rest of

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Speaker 1: the stuff, but just the cafe.

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Speaker 2: Sure we are a five oh one C three organization, right,

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Speaker 2: we do need donations to keep us sustainable. That being said,

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Speaker 2: I can guarantee you twenty twenty six we will be

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Speaker 2: sustainable without being a nonprofit.

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Speaker 1: Don't make a profit as long as you put that

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Speaker 1: profit back into the non profit. Yes, so you can

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Speaker 1: make money.

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Speaker 2: Yes, we have not made money in the sense of

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Speaker 2: making a profit to the rush, just the restaurant. That

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Speaker 2: being said, with all of our other entities mentoring other

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Speaker 2: organizations across the country, we have affiliates and we're talk

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Speaker 2: about that that adds to our revenue. But the cafe

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Speaker 2: we know will be sustainable this year on its own,

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Speaker 2: on its own.

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Speaker 4: You hear cafes. They have one in Dallas too. Yeah,

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Speaker 4: we're getting there.

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Speaker 1: So so in twenty twenty six, the cafe itself will

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Speaker 1: pay its employees, handle its operational cost, and turn a profit.

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Speaker 2: Yes.

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Speaker 1: Yes, it's a win win. You're helping people who otherwise

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Speaker 1: would have almost nothing to do in their lives, and

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Speaker 1: under the guise of raising the bar, these folks are

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Speaker 1: actually going to be not only doing jobs, but running

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Speaker 1: a profitable business. Yes, that's astounding. That's pretty incredible because

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Speaker 1: I've talked to a lot of people who've done a

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Speaker 1: lot of things, and they do things to raise revenue,

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Speaker 1: but it's very rare that those things actually can stand

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Speaker 1: on their own right, and so.

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Speaker 2: Many restaurants in order to raise revenue they'll cut employees.

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Speaker 1: Doing that. That's your whole.

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Speaker 2: That's why we're there.

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Speaker 1: You're right, we'll be right back. Okay. So cafe Originally

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Speaker 1: cafe was singular now cafes as or so where else?

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Speaker 2: Okay, We just opened in December of twenty twenty five

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Speaker 2: Hugs Cafe in Dallas.

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Speaker 1: How many people work there?

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Speaker 2: So excited. There's twenty three that work there.

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Speaker 1: Where where it is?

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Speaker 2: In? Yes, there is an organization called the Meadows Foundation

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Speaker 2: and they're very very sortive supportive of lots of nonprofits

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Speaker 2: in the Dallas area. In fact, they have this huge campus.

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Speaker 2: I don't know how large it is, but they have

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Speaker 2: offices and buildings. They're old homes that have been restored

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Speaker 2: on their campus and that's the office for these different nonprofits.

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Speaker 2: One is Treasured Vessels, which helps women who have been trafficked.

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Speaker 2: There all sorts of things. They he came to us.

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Speaker 2: They have given us several grants. They came to us

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Speaker 2: and said, we have a building, an empty building on

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Speaker 2: our campus. We would love to have a Hugs Cafe there.

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Speaker 2: We need this in Dallas, and we're paying nothing for

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Speaker 2: rent for ten years and we open up and get going.

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Speaker 1: And now people on the campus have a place to

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Speaker 1: go to lunch.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, it's gorgeous. And I know you know about Cafe Momentum.

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Speaker 2: They're going to be building right across the street from us.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's interesting. It's interesting that Chad and Cafe Momentum.

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Speaker 1: For those of you listening who haven't watched that episode,

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Speaker 1: just go back to Chadouser Cafe Momentum, who also has

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Speaker 1: a restaurant, and he is a classically trained chef, he is,

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Speaker 1: and his place is staff by.

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Speaker 3: Justice Involved Youth.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, juvenile offenders.

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Speaker 1: Juvenile offenders who have found their way out of difficult

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Speaker 1: circumstances through a love of the culinary work. And Chad's

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Speaker 1: restaurant is amazing too. And now he's going to be

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Speaker 1: operating near you, Yes, on the same campus.

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Speaker 4: Actually cool updaking. We've not updated listeners on it. He's

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Speaker 4: now in Atlanta. Yeah, he's all over the place.

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Speaker 2: He is, and it's so sweet. He was he was

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Speaker 2: at our grand opening at the Dallas location and gave

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Speaker 2: me a big hug. I said, you know, we just

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Speaker 2: have different populations. We do the same thing, just different populations.

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Speaker 2: And he said, Ruth, you wouldn't believe how similar our

436
00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:47,000
Speaker 2: populations are.

437
00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:51,760
Speaker 1: Oh that's interesting, yes, because of Yeah.

438
00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:54,480
Speaker 2: You know, it's interesting to get in trouble. Maybe there's

439
00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:56,920
Speaker 2: a reason some of them get in trouble, but they've

440
00:31:56,920 --> 00:31:58,000
Speaker 2: never been diagnosed.

441
00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:05,560
Speaker 1: So now we're Huggs McKinnie, Hugs, Dollas, Hugs, Greenhouse, Hugs

442
00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:11,000
Speaker 1: training facility, and hugs like home cooking. I say that right, yes,

443
00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:15,680
Speaker 1: And then you said something about and now Hugs World

444
00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:21,360
Speaker 1: where the Huggs mckinniy will be located. But you also

445
00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:24,800
Speaker 1: said something about affiliates. Yeah, it almost sounds like Chick

446
00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:27,880
Speaker 1: fil A's franchising over here. What what tell me what

447
00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:30,400
Speaker 1: is an affiliate? And tell me what they are and

448
00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:34,440
Speaker 1: where they are and what's developed there, because that's incredible.

449
00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:38,760
Speaker 2: Yeah. I can't tell you the number of people that

450
00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:42,200
Speaker 2: have found out about us across the country that have

451
00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:46,920
Speaker 2: called me over the years. Can I visit with you? Can?

452
00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:49,560
Speaker 2: Can you tell me how to do this? How did

453
00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:53,840
Speaker 2: you do it? And I would spend hours on the phone.

454
00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:58,200
Speaker 2: People would would come and visit. I'd let them, you know,

455
00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:04,240
Speaker 2: stay in we're in the cafe. And we decided, you know,

456
00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:10,040
Speaker 2: we can help more people. We can't be everywhere. We

457
00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:13,040
Speaker 2: would love to be everywhere. We can't be everywhere, but

458
00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:17,000
Speaker 2: we can help others. I mean, it was getting questions

459
00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:19,720
Speaker 2: from how do you put together a board of directors?

460
00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:21,680
Speaker 2: How do you file for a five oh one c?

461
00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:22,080
Speaker 3: Three?

462
00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:27,280
Speaker 2: How do you decide what you're going to sell or produce?

463
00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:32,120
Speaker 2: Every single question that there is. So what we're doing

464
00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:36,680
Speaker 2: now is we're licensing our We wrote our own curriculum.

465
00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:43,200
Speaker 2: We're licensing our curriculum. We're also licensing how we did everything.

466
00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:47,960
Speaker 2: And this is another revenue stream for us. We have

467
00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:53,600
Speaker 2: affiliates now, we have lily Pad in Ridgeland, Mississippi. We have.

468
00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:58,840
Speaker 1: Yes and I know jacksonsis there.

469
00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:02,360
Speaker 2: Yes, Yeah, Gosh, I can't remember the names of all

470
00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:06,240
Speaker 2: of them. There's one in Arkansas. They have not opened yet.

471
00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:10,160
Speaker 2: I think they're in Fayetteville. Uh, they haven't opened yet.

472
00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:17,120
Speaker 2: They wanted a Hugs there. But now it's a husband and.

473
00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:19,879
Speaker 3: Wife Pathway cafe that's in Springdale.

474
00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:24,120
Speaker 1: That may northwest Arkansas.

475
00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:31,280
Speaker 2: Some neat couple. Then we've got Illinois.

476
00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:32,759
Speaker 3: For people just listening. Bill is now going in for a.

477
00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:36,640
Speaker 1: Second the rest of it. While you're while you're shut up,

478
00:34:36,840 --> 00:34:39,520
Speaker 1: go ahead, you keep not you shut up A shut.

479
00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:46,040
Speaker 2: Up, I'll talk since you have cooking out. Uh, we

480
00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:50,319
Speaker 2: have Kischette k E s h E T in Chicago.

481
00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:54,160
Speaker 2: They have been around. They're an organization that's been around

482
00:34:54,160 --> 00:34:57,920
Speaker 2: for years and years and years. They have a kitchen

483
00:34:58,239 --> 00:35:02,480
Speaker 2: but they never used it or a restaurant kind of space.

484
00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:04,759
Speaker 2: And they came to us and said, how do we

485
00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:10,600
Speaker 2: do this? So we're mentoring them. We have a gentleman

486
00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:20,000
Speaker 2: in Colorado who uses that F word franchise, and we're

487
00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:25,440
Speaker 2: we're still trying to figure out. You know, how do

488
00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:27,880
Speaker 2: you govern I mean, Chad not going to have a

489
00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:31,319
Speaker 2: long talk about this, but how do you govern a

490
00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:35,440
Speaker 2: nonprofit that's in another state? And I mean this gentleman

491
00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:38,920
Speaker 2: came to us and he said, I've got the money,

492
00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:44,640
Speaker 2: I don't want to run it. Well, okay, so we're

493
00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:45,440
Speaker 2: working on that.

494
00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:48,840
Speaker 1: You're supposed to be retired ten years space. Yeah, I know,

495
00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:51,040
Speaker 1: it's incredible.

496
00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:53,080
Speaker 3: Looks like Tallahassee.

497
00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:55,480
Speaker 2: Oh yes, yeah.

498
00:35:55,520 --> 00:35:57,680
Speaker 3: And then what's the Super Duper Cookie in Dallas?

499
00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:01,640
Speaker 2: Okay, super Duper Cookie Company. It's right off of the

500
00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:07,279
Speaker 2: s m U University SMU campus and that is a

501
00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:14,440
Speaker 2: gentleman who wanted to do make these cookies and higher

502
00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:18,960
Speaker 2: our population. But he didn't know how to work with them.

503
00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:23,960
Speaker 2: They're an incredible family. They opened this super duper cookie

504
00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:26,640
Speaker 2: company and ran it for a few months, and now

505
00:36:26,680 --> 00:36:29,239
Speaker 2: they've come to us and said, you know, can you

506
00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:32,919
Speaker 2: run this forest? And so.

507
00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:36,439
Speaker 1: With them, Wait one more.

508
00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:42,280
Speaker 3: My Possibilities has been on the podcast. Charmaine was here.

509
00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:47,640
Speaker 2: Oh, Charmaine was here. Wonderful. They had this beautiful campus.

510
00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:51,400
Speaker 2: I've known Charmain forever and a day. In fact, she

511
00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:57,319
Speaker 2: My Possibilities before they had their big, beautiful building used

512
00:36:57,360 --> 00:37:01,000
Speaker 2: to bring students to take cookiing classes from me.

513
00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:04,520
Speaker 1: That makes sense. Yes, everybody needs to go to that

514
00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:07,319
Speaker 1: episode too, if you want some perspective on that. It's

515
00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:11,160
Speaker 1: crazy how some of these things are intersecting. I didn't

516
00:37:11,160 --> 00:37:12,640
Speaker 1: really know that before Magie.

517
00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:18,000
Speaker 2: Why not work together? A lot of nonprofits just look

518
00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:19,680
Speaker 2: at other nonprofits as.

519
00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:22,000
Speaker 1: Competition, especially for funding.

520
00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:26,560
Speaker 2: Yes, but why not work together, especially when it comes

521
00:37:26,560 --> 00:37:31,760
Speaker 2: to grants, because you're asked who do you collaborate with? Well,

522
00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:37,960
Speaker 2: My Possibilities has this beautiful kitchen and they were doing

523
00:37:38,120 --> 00:37:43,160
Speaker 2: nothing with it. They came to us and said, you know, culinary,

524
00:37:43,520 --> 00:37:47,040
Speaker 2: we don't We don't even know how to hire for culinary.

525
00:37:48,719 --> 00:37:54,000
Speaker 2: We're now running there. It's called Hugs Cafe at My Possibilities.

526
00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:55,600
Speaker 1: That's unbelievable, I know.

527
00:37:56,040 --> 00:37:58,600
Speaker 2: And we're training there are people the.

528
00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:00,000
Speaker 3: College campus for people who haven't heard.

529
00:38:00,600 --> 00:38:06,200
Speaker 1: Yes, so yeah, the curriculum that my possibilities is insane.

530
00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:10,440
Speaker 1: They've got ye under closer classes. I remember going down

531
00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:13,719
Speaker 1: the curriculum actually on the podcast and just reading some

532
00:38:13,880 --> 00:38:15,920
Speaker 1: of them, and I was flabbergasted at what.

533
00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:17,880
Speaker 2: My hospitality fabulous program.

534
00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:21,239
Speaker 1: So the culinary thing is now Hugs at My Possibilities. Yeah,

535
00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:24,920
Speaker 1: why wouldn't it be so? Over the next five years,

536
00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:27,440
Speaker 1: your plans are to serve more than six hundred and

537
00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:32,839
Speaker 1: fifty individuals, established twenty five nonprofit mentorships, create ten curriculum

538
00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:40,040
Speaker 1: licensing partnership, and open three new Hugs Cafes where I

539
00:38:40,080 --> 00:38:41,560
Speaker 1: can tell you you're not going to tell.

540
00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:45,239
Speaker 2: Me I wanna well, actually I do think well death.

541
00:38:45,400 --> 00:38:52,480
Speaker 2: We'll be in Colorado, probably Colorado Springs, phenomenal. We will

542
00:38:52,520 --> 00:38:58,920
Speaker 2: probably be somewhere in north west Florida. Got it, And

543
00:38:59,360 --> 00:39:02,560
Speaker 2: we're working on another one that's phenomenal.

544
00:39:02,680 --> 00:39:04,880
Speaker 1: I know. Do you pinch yourself a little?

545
00:39:06,719 --> 00:39:12,280
Speaker 2: I do? I do? I will tell you I'm saying.

546
00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:14,520
Speaker 2: I don't mind saying it to the world. I'm seventy

547
00:39:14,560 --> 00:39:23,359
Speaker 2: one years old. No, I'm seventy two. Crap. I was

548
00:39:23,719 --> 00:39:28,479
Speaker 2: a little more energetic when I was younger. We have

549
00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:33,200
Speaker 2: a CEO. Her name is Laurence Smith, and I can't

550
00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:35,680
Speaker 2: say enough about her.

551
00:39:35,960 --> 00:39:37,440
Speaker 1: Do you feel like you're letting your baby go?

552
00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:44,720
Speaker 2: No, I feel like I'm now able to walk side

553
00:39:44,760 --> 00:39:50,120
Speaker 2: by side with her. And because she has the energy,

554
00:39:50,239 --> 00:39:55,080
Speaker 2: she has the quick thinking, she has all that we need.

555
00:39:56,040 --> 00:39:59,040
Speaker 2: I told her one day, you remind me so much

556
00:39:59,080 --> 00:40:02,279
Speaker 2: of myself when I was in my late thirties.

557
00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:05,239
Speaker 1: You know, I've been sitting across from me for an

558
00:40:05,239 --> 00:40:07,640
Speaker 1: hour and forty three minutes so far, and it's not

559
00:40:07,760 --> 00:40:12,879
Speaker 1: like you ain't spra You're doing all right. I hope

560
00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:17,560
Speaker 1: it's seventy two. I'm rocket like you are because you're yeah,

561
00:40:17,640 --> 00:40:21,359
Speaker 1: a big smile and you are quick thinking in all

562
00:40:21,400 --> 00:40:23,719
Speaker 1: of that. But I get it. You have to plan

563
00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:24,280
Speaker 1: for success.

564
00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:28,359
Speaker 2: You do have to plan for secession. And she's got it,

565
00:40:28,560 --> 00:40:37,160
Speaker 2: and she leads this organization. She's she has been the one.

566
00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:44,520
Speaker 1: So five years from now, yeah, maybe you actually do

567
00:40:44,600 --> 00:40:47,440
Speaker 1: take your overdue retirement. That you were supposed to take

568
00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:53,960
Speaker 1: a decade ago. Maybe not, maybe you've at least just

569
00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:57,520
Speaker 1: worked four hours a day. But at whatever point you

570
00:40:57,719 --> 00:41:00,960
Speaker 1: are sitting in your recliner in your great room with Chris,

571
00:41:01,360 --> 00:41:05,000
Speaker 1: five years from now, what will success look like to

572
00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,960
Speaker 1: you for this enterprise that was a dream only ten

573
00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:10,799
Speaker 1: years ago? What do you what do you want from it?

574
00:41:10,920 --> 00:41:14,160
Speaker 1: What is your what is your dream now? For it?

575
00:41:15,239 --> 00:41:19,440
Speaker 2: I want to be making a change in lives across

576
00:41:19,480 --> 00:41:27,040
Speaker 2: this country. Well, actually I'm already I've already reached across

577
00:41:27,080 --> 00:41:29,879
Speaker 2: the world. I helped a young man in Kazakhstan.

578
00:41:30,920 --> 00:41:32,000
Speaker 1: I'm kidding, no.

579
00:41:33,400 --> 00:41:36,200
Speaker 2: His name is Malin m may U l I N

580
00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:38,359
Speaker 2: And I just reached out to him again. I haven't

581
00:41:38,400 --> 00:41:40,719
Speaker 2: heard from him for a while, but he now has

582
00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:46,759
Speaker 2: three and I forget what they're called. But he started.

583
00:41:48,600 --> 00:41:53,560
Speaker 2: He heard about us through Upworthy did a story on us.

584
00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:56,359
Speaker 2: He heard about us, and this is like the year

585
00:41:56,440 --> 00:42:01,320
Speaker 2: after We're open, and he wanted to do something in

586
00:42:01,440 --> 00:42:09,479
Speaker 2: his university campus, same thing. And we spent hours upon

587
00:42:09,680 --> 00:42:14,640
Speaker 2: hours on the phone, probably in the middle of the night,

588
00:42:14,760 --> 00:42:16,360
Speaker 2: because it's a different type.

589
00:42:17,160 --> 00:42:19,760
Speaker 1: The other's are the work literally eleven hours away.

590
00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:27,359
Speaker 2: Yeah, and he started something on his university campus. One

591
00:42:27,400 --> 00:42:30,760
Speaker 2: thing he did is he called me one time and

592
00:42:30,840 --> 00:42:33,759
Speaker 2: we were talking. He said, do you pay them? And

593
00:42:33,800 --> 00:42:34,760
Speaker 2: I said.

594
00:42:34,719 --> 00:42:36,920
Speaker 1: Absolutely jobs, Yes, yes.

595
00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:40,320
Speaker 2: We pay them, and we're very proud of the fact

596
00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:43,560
Speaker 2: that we don't just pay them minimum wage. We pay

597
00:42:43,640 --> 00:42:47,279
Speaker 2: them higher because many states you can pay them some

598
00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:48,280
Speaker 2: minimum wage.

599
00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:53,560
Speaker 1: Most states you can pay people disability. And I get

600
00:42:54,239 --> 00:42:58,719
Speaker 1: the intention there is to have something for them to

601
00:42:58,760 --> 00:43:03,480
Speaker 1: do and to be employed. But if you take a

602
00:43:03,560 --> 00:43:08,640
Speaker 1: page from your book, you would argue that you're patronizing

603
00:43:08,680 --> 00:43:14,400
Speaker 1: them and you're only asking them to roll silverware. You

604
00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:18,759
Speaker 1: would say, from what I've met you now, is that

605
00:43:19,280 --> 00:43:22,040
Speaker 1: pay them above them wage and expect more from them

606
00:43:22,040 --> 00:43:22,839
Speaker 1: and watch them grow.

607
00:43:23,040 --> 00:43:27,400
Speaker 2: Yes. Yes, So I told him, I said, will you

608
00:43:27,480 --> 00:43:30,239
Speaker 2: not pay them? And his reply was, you have to

609
00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:34,600
Speaker 2: understand in our country, a person with a disability has

610
00:43:34,680 --> 00:43:38,520
Speaker 2: fewer rights than a criminal. They have the right to work,

611
00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:42,080
Speaker 2: they do not have the right to get paid to work,

612
00:43:44,480 --> 00:43:50,239
Speaker 2: which is anyway. I also, yeah, I also helped a

613
00:43:50,239 --> 00:43:54,279
Speaker 2: young woman in Egypt open something, no kidding, And there

614
00:43:54,320 --> 00:44:00,000
Speaker 2: was someone in Ireland that I have helped years five years.

615
00:44:00,719 --> 00:44:06,720
Speaker 2: There should be somewhere in every state in these United States.

616
00:44:07,239 --> 00:44:13,920
Speaker 2: That's employing people with disabilities and giving them meaningful employment,

617
00:44:14,239 --> 00:44:20,319
Speaker 2: not rolling silverware. And I'll rest easy and learn to knit.

618
00:44:22,080 --> 00:44:26,120
Speaker 1: I get that you what you did in Colorado, and

619
00:44:28,200 --> 00:44:30,359
Speaker 1: I get the grocery store experience that kind of led

620
00:44:30,360 --> 00:44:34,439
Speaker 1: to all of this. But is there something in your

621
00:44:34,960 --> 00:44:37,960
Speaker 1: you mentioned earlier, you didn't have anybody in your family

622
00:44:38,040 --> 00:44:44,360
Speaker 1: that has intellectual disabilities. Where does the sense of service

623
00:44:44,400 --> 00:44:48,880
Speaker 1: come from for you?

624
00:44:48,880 --> 00:44:52,400
Speaker 2: You know, that's interesting. My mother was a nurse. I

625
00:44:52,400 --> 00:44:54,080
Speaker 2: think I told you. I grew up on a farm

626
00:44:54,160 --> 00:44:56,960
Speaker 2: in south central Georgia. She was a nurse, daddy was

627
00:44:57,000 --> 00:45:03,560
Speaker 2: a farmer, and she was all always giving back. But

628
00:45:03,640 --> 00:45:06,920
Speaker 2: it was a small town and everyone was always helping

629
00:45:07,160 --> 00:45:14,719
Speaker 2: each other. I think I just have that instinct. I

630
00:45:14,880 --> 00:45:18,800
Speaker 2: just think it's there that that's what we're supposed to

631
00:45:18,840 --> 00:45:26,160
Speaker 2: be here to do, is help others. That's where my

632
00:45:26,280 --> 00:45:26,960
Speaker 2: passion is.

633
00:45:31,880 --> 00:45:50,440
Speaker 1: We'll be right back. You've always been clear that the

634
00:45:50,480 --> 00:45:53,520
Speaker 1: work did not begin with expertise. You didn't know anything

635
00:45:53,560 --> 00:45:58,160
Speaker 1: about it, which we talked about earlier. But you you

636
00:45:58,200 --> 00:46:01,640
Speaker 1: don't have a background in restaurants. You didn't have really

637
00:46:01,680 --> 00:46:06,120
Speaker 1: a plan. But there's a quote here that Alex provided

638
00:46:06,160 --> 00:46:08,560
Speaker 1: that I love and I want you to talk about it.

639
00:46:09,719 --> 00:46:13,840
Speaker 1: People assume someone else is going to do it. Something

640
00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:17,840
Speaker 1: we say all the time is you know when you

641
00:46:17,920 --> 00:46:20,560
Speaker 1: see all the abject despair and loss and you think, boy,

642
00:46:20,719 --> 00:46:23,279
Speaker 1: somebody ought to do something about that. One day we

643
00:46:23,360 --> 00:46:27,520
Speaker 1: ask who that was, somebody what's wrong with you? And

644
00:46:27,600 --> 00:46:30,000
Speaker 1: you say, people assume someone else is going to do it.

645
00:46:30,360 --> 00:46:33,760
Speaker 1: When everyone assumes someone else will handle it, nothing gets handled.

646
00:46:34,680 --> 00:46:37,200
Speaker 1: You don't have to open a cafe, you don't have

647
00:46:37,239 --> 00:46:39,640
Speaker 1: to start a nonprofit. You can look at what's in

648
00:46:39,640 --> 00:46:41,880
Speaker 1: front of you. You can decide not to ignore it.

649
00:46:42,440 --> 00:46:47,759
Speaker 1: People wait until they feel ready. Responsibility doesn't wait for permission.

650
00:46:49,640 --> 00:46:51,600
Speaker 1: Are you willing to step in even if you don't

651
00:46:51,640 --> 00:46:56,480
Speaker 1: know how this ends? When we stop expecting people to contribute,

652
00:46:56,640 --> 00:47:01,200
Speaker 1: we shouldn't be surprised when communities are fractured. If you

653
00:47:01,239 --> 00:47:04,080
Speaker 1: expect nothing, you'll get nothing. When you expect someone to

654
00:47:04,080 --> 00:47:06,880
Speaker 1: show up to contribute to matters, something changes.

655
00:47:09,280 --> 00:47:10,960
Speaker 2: That is.

656
00:47:12,400 --> 00:47:16,080
Speaker 1: Dead right in my opinion. And you and I sing

657
00:47:16,080 --> 00:47:19,479
Speaker 1: off the same sheet of music. The way we sing

658
00:47:19,560 --> 00:47:21,560
Speaker 1: the song may sound a little different, but it's the

659
00:47:21,600 --> 00:47:26,120
Speaker 1: same thing. To me. It sounds like you feel a

660
00:47:26,160 --> 00:47:31,960
Speaker 1: responsibility because you see a need, Can you just kind

661
00:47:31,960 --> 00:47:34,000
Speaker 1: of speak to that at the end of our conversation

662
00:47:34,160 --> 00:47:39,880
Speaker 1: here so that our listeners maybe can grab some of

663
00:47:39,920 --> 00:47:43,160
Speaker 1: your passion and your conviction and now, after ten years,

664
00:47:43,160 --> 00:47:43,880
Speaker 1: some of your wisdom.

665
00:47:46,280 --> 00:47:52,040
Speaker 2: It took me years to find what my passion was,

666
00:47:54,320 --> 00:47:57,080
Speaker 2: and I was for many, many, many years, I was

667
00:47:57,120 --> 00:48:00,839
Speaker 2: always saying, God, what am I here for? I've got

668
00:48:00,840 --> 00:48:07,120
Speaker 2: my wonderful family, beautiful children, wonderful husband, Why am I here?

669
00:48:09,239 --> 00:48:15,839
Speaker 2: And just being around people with disabilities. The last job

670
00:48:15,880 --> 00:48:22,279
Speaker 2: I had in Colorado, it was I knew that was

671
00:48:22,360 --> 00:48:29,600
Speaker 2: it and somebody had to do something. And then when

672
00:48:29,680 --> 00:48:33,680
Speaker 2: we moved to Texas and there were so few opportunities.

673
00:48:34,640 --> 00:48:40,680
Speaker 2: There are many ways that people can help others, and

674
00:48:43,520 --> 00:48:49,360
Speaker 2: you know, there's the homeless, there are food, insecurities, and

675
00:48:50,160 --> 00:48:56,560
Speaker 2: so many people are seen that, which is wonderful. But

676
00:48:56,640 --> 00:49:00,880
Speaker 2: sometimes you've got to step out of that box and

677
00:49:01,000 --> 00:49:07,480
Speaker 2: see what other needs there are. And when I saw

678
00:49:07,840 --> 00:49:11,600
Speaker 2: this need and God said, You've got to do it,

679
00:49:14,480 --> 00:49:17,880
Speaker 2: nobody else is going to do it unless that one

680
00:49:18,080 --> 00:49:25,040
Speaker 2: person does, and I just knew and felt that in

681
00:49:25,080 --> 00:49:28,880
Speaker 2: my gut, in my heart, one person.

682
00:49:30,600 --> 00:49:33,920
Speaker 1: I am. It's impossible not to hear your story and

683
00:49:34,000 --> 00:49:34,560
Speaker 1: admire it.

684
00:49:35,440 --> 00:49:35,879
Speaker 2: Thank you.

685
00:49:36,400 --> 00:49:40,200
Speaker 1: It's impossible not to meet you and admire you and

686
00:49:40,239 --> 00:49:42,200
Speaker 1: be taken with the fact that you're seventy two. You

687
00:49:42,280 --> 00:49:49,719
Speaker 1: carry seventy two extraordinarily well, thank you. I don't know

688
00:49:49,760 --> 00:49:52,319
Speaker 1: who wrote this, maybe it was Alex, but it is

689
00:49:52,360 --> 00:49:56,080
Speaker 1: so true that admiration can be a way of opting out.

690
00:49:57,360 --> 00:50:04,160
Speaker 1: In other words, many people have told me that, you know,

691
00:50:04,520 --> 00:50:06,680
Speaker 1: the work I've done in Inner City with football and

692
00:50:06,719 --> 00:50:09,719
Speaker 1: whatever is inspiring and blah blah blah blah blah, as

693
00:50:09,880 --> 00:50:18,440
Speaker 1: if those words, as if admiration or accepting inspiration is enough,

694
00:50:19,480 --> 00:50:21,719
Speaker 1: and by just saying something nice, they opt out of

695
00:50:21,760 --> 00:50:25,880
Speaker 1: the work. And that may sound a little tough to

696
00:50:25,960 --> 00:50:28,560
Speaker 1: some people, but I do feel that way. When I

697
00:50:28,640 --> 00:50:30,600
Speaker 1: read that, I thought, that's interesting. Who wrote that? Do

698
00:50:30,680 --> 00:50:31,120
Speaker 1: you write that?

699
00:50:31,920 --> 00:50:36,400
Speaker 3: Honest answer, CHATCHVT did, CHATCHVT did.

700
00:50:36,880 --> 00:50:39,440
Speaker 1: Chat GPT wrote that? And I mean.

701
00:50:41,400 --> 00:50:44,359
Speaker 3: Another extension of your line too. We feel like it

702
00:50:44,360 --> 00:50:46,120
Speaker 3: erases our own responsibility.

703
00:50:46,320 --> 00:50:51,359
Speaker 1: That's what I mean, yeah, is And so while I

704
00:50:51,400 --> 00:50:58,160
Speaker 1: appreciate the kind of comments and stuff, it is tempting

705
00:50:58,200 --> 00:51:01,239
Speaker 1: to hear a story like yours and admire and maybe

706
00:51:01,320 --> 00:51:04,520
Speaker 1: write you one hundred dollars check and assume that that

707
00:51:04,600 --> 00:51:09,280
Speaker 1: means you're part of the process of doing something good

708
00:51:09,400 --> 00:51:14,200
Speaker 1: because you say, wow, that's nice. Yeah, but nothing replaces action,

709
00:51:15,719 --> 00:51:18,520
Speaker 1: and this whole show, if anything, is a call to

710
00:51:18,640 --> 00:51:25,120
Speaker 1: action to normal people by highlighting stories like yours and

711
00:51:25,280 --> 00:51:29,680
Speaker 1: hopefully inspiring people to not just be inspired, but to act,

712
00:51:30,000 --> 00:51:32,719
Speaker 1: to not think because they listen to this show that

713
00:51:33,280 --> 00:51:38,320
Speaker 1: it allows them to opt out of the actual work. Yeah,

714
00:51:38,400 --> 00:51:40,560
Speaker 1: do you have a call to action for those that

715
00:51:40,600 --> 00:51:44,200
Speaker 1: are hearing you today? How would you inspire people to

716
00:51:44,200 --> 00:51:45,279
Speaker 1: get off the sidelines?

717
00:51:46,160 --> 00:51:50,439
Speaker 2: Just get off your button? Do it? And I make

718
00:51:50,480 --> 00:51:55,680
Speaker 2: it sound so easy. No, it wasn't easy. Where have

719
00:51:55,840 --> 00:51:58,920
Speaker 2: there been times over these years that you would find

720
00:51:58,920 --> 00:52:04,759
Speaker 2: me in the corner in a few position. Absolutely, But

721
00:52:06,080 --> 00:52:13,040
Speaker 2: you know you've just even especially those of faith, trust,

722
00:52:13,880 --> 00:52:16,640
Speaker 2: trust and get up and do it.

723
00:52:18,280 --> 00:52:20,880
Speaker 1: You've told me you felt people all over the world,

724
00:52:20,960 --> 00:52:24,040
Speaker 1: and you keep doing stuff and you've got the new young,

725
00:52:24,360 --> 00:52:27,600
Speaker 1: younger version of you come along that you're meentoring and training.

726
00:52:29,560 --> 00:52:31,239
Speaker 1: I know there's website because I looked at it, But

727
00:52:31,280 --> 00:52:31,600
Speaker 1: what's it.

728
00:52:31,640 --> 00:52:35,520
Speaker 2: Called huggscafe dot org org.

729
00:52:36,040 --> 00:52:38,480
Speaker 1: H ugscafe dot org.

730
00:52:38,680 --> 00:52:43,520
Speaker 2: Yes, and hugs is hope, understanding grace and success.

731
00:52:43,800 --> 00:52:47,080
Speaker 1: Hope understanding grace and success cool acronym.

732
00:52:47,160 --> 00:52:49,160
Speaker 3: Do people give hugs tough?

733
00:52:49,480 --> 00:52:54,000
Speaker 2: We have mission based staff that chase you down the

734
00:52:54,160 --> 00:52:57,359
Speaker 2: street if you walk out the door without a hug.

735
00:52:57,760 --> 00:53:00,759
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh. If somebody let's get in touch with

736
00:53:00,840 --> 00:53:04,000
Speaker 1: you and wants to be one of these new locations

737
00:53:04,320 --> 00:53:07,120
Speaker 1: or work with you, or support you or hear more,

738
00:53:08,000 --> 00:53:08,960
Speaker 1: how did they get in touch with you?

739
00:53:09,000 --> 00:53:12,920
Speaker 2: Your website which is hugscafe dot org.

740
00:53:13,080 --> 00:53:14,719
Speaker 1: Can they find you there?

741
00:53:15,840 --> 00:53:22,480
Speaker 2: There is a info and info at hugscafe dot org. Actually,

742
00:53:22,680 --> 00:53:25,239
Speaker 2: if they want to send an email that goes to

743
00:53:25,400 --> 00:53:27,640
Speaker 2: someone and if they want to talk to me, they

744
00:53:27,680 --> 00:53:28,320
Speaker 2: will let me know.

745
00:53:28,800 --> 00:53:33,800
Speaker 1: Ruth Thompson everybody the founder of Hugs Cafe McKinney, Texas,

746
00:53:33,880 --> 00:53:36,239
Speaker 1: who clearly is willing to talk to folks and help

747
00:53:36,320 --> 00:53:39,319
Speaker 1: him out. So that's how you get to them. Ruth,

748
00:53:39,840 --> 00:53:45,400
Speaker 1: close us out with You've told us about who's the speaker, Danny.

749
00:53:45,600 --> 00:53:48,000
Speaker 1: He told me. It told us about Daniel, and you've

750
00:53:48,080 --> 00:53:53,799
Speaker 1: told us about in the kitchen Tamika. Yes, give us

751
00:53:53,880 --> 00:53:55,960
Speaker 1: one of the stories that when you're laying in bed

752
00:53:56,000 --> 00:53:58,560
Speaker 1: and your head's pounding you've had enough still makes you smile.

753
00:54:00,160 --> 00:54:04,240
Speaker 2: I've got a great one. Her name is Kathy. Kathy

754
00:54:04,440 --> 00:54:12,680
Speaker 2: has cerebral palsy. Kathy started with us, and what could

755
00:54:12,760 --> 00:54:17,320
Speaker 2: Kathy do? Kathy has the constricted muscles in her hands,

756
00:54:17,400 --> 00:54:19,880
Speaker 2: a little problem with her gait. At the time that

757
00:54:20,040 --> 00:54:24,040
Speaker 2: she started with us, all of our sandwiches are toasted.

758
00:54:24,960 --> 00:54:30,759
Speaker 2: She would man the toaster, and her job some of

759
00:54:30,840 --> 00:54:37,239
Speaker 2: our jobs, we we carved the jobs to meet a

760
00:54:37,280 --> 00:54:43,279
Speaker 2: person's abilities. Rather than expecting Kathy to make the scent,

761
00:54:43,480 --> 00:54:45,840
Speaker 2: toast the bread, make the sandwich, put the sides on

762
00:54:46,680 --> 00:54:49,759
Speaker 2: to me, I can do that. Kathy's job was to

763
00:54:49,880 --> 00:54:55,840
Speaker 2: toast the bread. She coined herself the bread queen. And

764
00:54:56,760 --> 00:55:00,840
Speaker 2: when we first started training, I got it stool for

765
00:55:01,040 --> 00:55:04,960
Speaker 2: Kathy to sit on. And Kathy looked at me and

766
00:55:05,160 --> 00:55:09,919
Speaker 2: she said, nobody else in here has a stool. I'm

767
00:55:10,000 --> 00:55:15,880
Speaker 2: not going to have a stool. And she worked. She

768
00:55:16,040 --> 00:55:19,560
Speaker 2: no longer works for us. She's now moving to Tennessee.

769
00:55:19,680 --> 00:55:24,320
Speaker 2: I believe to be near her her brother. But she said,

770
00:55:24,520 --> 00:55:29,920
Speaker 2: nobody else has a stool. I'm like everybody else. I'm

771
00:55:29,960 --> 00:55:36,440
Speaker 2: gonna do my job standing here. Kathy and Tamika and

772
00:55:36,680 --> 00:55:41,719
Speaker 2: Danny make me smile and cry at the same time.

773
00:55:43,880 --> 00:55:47,480
Speaker 1: That's phenomenal. You know, There's one other thing I want

774
00:55:47,520 --> 00:55:50,600
Speaker 1: to say that I'm gonna I'm gonna ask you to

775
00:55:50,640 --> 00:55:58,040
Speaker 1: speak to a little bit, is people with intellectual disabilities

776
00:55:58,840 --> 00:56:04,360
Speaker 1: are a blessing and a joy done. My brother in

777
00:56:04,440 --> 00:56:07,080
Speaker 1: law has taught me that. Yeah, it's also taught me

778
00:56:07,120 --> 00:56:07,600
Speaker 1: there are a lot.

779
00:56:07,520 --> 00:56:07,920
Speaker 2: Of work.

780
00:56:09,280 --> 00:56:12,480
Speaker 1: I have to believe that. Not only is this therapeutic

781
00:56:12,600 --> 00:56:17,200
Speaker 1: and amazing for the confidence and abilities of people with

782
00:56:17,360 --> 00:56:20,239
Speaker 1: disabilities that can find a purpose and work for you

783
00:56:20,360 --> 00:56:22,719
Speaker 1: and make an income and be proud and learn and

784
00:56:22,840 --> 00:56:26,320
Speaker 1: all of that, but oh my gosh, it must be

785
00:56:26,440 --> 00:56:27,880
Speaker 1: heaven sent for their families.

786
00:56:29,560 --> 00:56:29,840
Speaker 2: Have you.

787
00:56:31,400 --> 00:56:34,480
Speaker 1: Gotten that? Have you had those type of conversation with

788
00:56:34,600 --> 00:56:35,320
Speaker 1: family members?

789
00:56:35,600 --> 00:56:37,120
Speaker 2: Most definitely tell me.

790
00:56:37,160 --> 00:56:37,920
Speaker 1: What that looks like.

791
00:56:38,200 --> 00:56:43,120
Speaker 2: We have a mother who came to me three years

792
00:56:43,600 --> 00:56:49,960
Speaker 2: in her son had been working for us and sobbing,

793
00:56:50,960 --> 00:56:56,560
Speaker 2: absolutely sobbing, and she said, Ruth, I never thought there

794
00:56:56,719 --> 00:57:00,760
Speaker 2: was ever going to be anything for him. Is Marcus?

795
00:57:01,800 --> 00:57:08,440
Speaker 2: I always wondered what's gonna happen to Marcus? And she said,

796
00:57:09,400 --> 00:57:14,719
Speaker 2: now maybe we can think about getting Marcus an apartment.

797
00:57:16,720 --> 00:57:21,640
Speaker 2: She said, there's he has a purpose. He gets up

798
00:57:23,280 --> 00:57:26,520
Speaker 2: his dad makes his lunch the night before to take

799
00:57:26,600 --> 00:57:31,240
Speaker 2: to work. Marcus with his dad, makes his lunch at

800
00:57:31,400 --> 00:57:36,520
Speaker 2: night to take to work. He has a purpose.

801
00:57:37,440 --> 00:57:40,320
Speaker 1: Not only does Marcus has hope, his parents do exactly.

802
00:57:41,200 --> 00:57:44,160
Speaker 2: We have Jerry, who is this big teddy bear with

803
00:57:44,320 --> 00:57:50,440
Speaker 2: down syndrome. And Jerry you can't always understand what he says,

804
00:57:50,600 --> 00:57:53,640
Speaker 2: but his mother, he's been with us from the beginning.

805
00:57:53,760 --> 00:58:01,520
Speaker 2: His mother, Sherry said, whenever they go anywhere, Jerry will

806
00:58:01,640 --> 00:58:08,200
Speaker 2: tell people he has a job, and that just changes

807
00:58:08,320 --> 00:58:08,840
Speaker 2: her life.

808
00:58:10,840 --> 00:58:14,400
Speaker 1: Ruth Thompson, everybody, founder of Hugs Cafe and Mackenzie Texas

809
00:58:14,600 --> 00:58:16,919
Speaker 1: and now World Headquarters and all of the other things

810
00:58:16,960 --> 00:58:21,360
Speaker 1: you've heard about an extraordinary woman with an extraordinary story,

811
00:58:21,480 --> 00:58:24,080
Speaker 1: doing extraordinary work and changing lives of not only the

812
00:58:24,120 --> 00:58:26,520
Speaker 1: people that she has disabilities with those in her family

813
00:58:26,720 --> 00:58:32,160
Speaker 1: and I assure you the volunteers who interact with her population. Ruth,

814
00:58:32,800 --> 00:58:34,720
Speaker 1: I can't tell you how much I appreciate you coming

815
00:58:34,760 --> 00:58:38,320
Speaker 1: to Memphis and sharing your story. You are an inspiration

816
00:58:38,840 --> 00:58:40,960
Speaker 1: and it's an honor to meet you.

817
00:58:42,440 --> 00:58:45,760
Speaker 2: It's a pleasure to meet you. And now I'm teary Terry,

818
00:58:45,840 --> 00:58:46,920
Speaker 2: I thank you.

819
00:58:47,480 --> 00:58:48,800
Speaker 1: I don't know how you could listen to this and

820
00:58:48,840 --> 00:58:52,000
Speaker 1: not tear up a little bit. Ruth, amazing story. Not

821
00:58:52,160 --> 00:58:54,200
Speaker 1: bad for seventy two. You can come back when you're

822
00:58:54,200 --> 00:58:58,680
Speaker 1: one hundred and forty four. Thank you, Thank you, Bye bye.

823
00:59:00,080 --> 00:59:01,480
Speaker 3: Can you order the cookies online?

824
00:59:02,080 --> 00:59:02,720
Speaker 2: Yes? You can?

825
00:59:02,880 --> 00:59:07,320
Speaker 1: Oh, heck yeah, I guess we're not signed off yet.

826
00:59:07,440 --> 00:59:08,600
Speaker 1: How do you go to the website?

827
00:59:08,760 --> 00:59:10,760
Speaker 2: Go to the website. You can order cookies online.

828
00:59:10,920 --> 00:59:12,920
Speaker 1: Well, let me just tell you the wedding cake cookie

829
00:59:13,000 --> 00:59:15,280
Speaker 1: is worth order. And I'm taking my backs home to Lisa.

830
00:59:15,400 --> 00:59:17,320
Speaker 1: She's gonna equal and I know she's gonna love it

831
00:59:18,000 --> 00:59:24,840
Speaker 1: all right. Thanks for being Thank you so much, and

832
00:59:25,000 --> 00:59:28,280
Speaker 1: thank you for joining us this week. If Ruth Thompson

833
00:59:28,440 --> 00:59:32,000
Speaker 1: has inspired you in general, or better yet, take action

834
00:59:32,320 --> 00:59:37,919
Speaker 1: by visiting Hug's Cafe, donating to them, rallying an army

835
00:59:37,960 --> 00:59:40,880
Speaker 1: of normal folks to start something like it in your community,

836
00:59:41,240 --> 00:59:45,880
Speaker 1: or something else that is entirely different but you feel

837
00:59:45,960 --> 00:59:49,160
Speaker 1: convicted about let me know. I really want to hear

838
00:59:49,200 --> 00:59:52,640
Speaker 1: about it. You can write me anytime at Bill at

839
00:59:52,720 --> 00:59:56,080
Speaker 1: normal Folks dot us and I will respond. If you

840
00:59:56,200 --> 00:59:59,680
Speaker 1: enjoyed this episode as a look likes to say, share

841
00:59:59,720 --> 01:00:04,280
Speaker 1: it for and on social Subscribe to the podcast, Rate

842
01:00:04,360 --> 01:00:09,479
Speaker 1: the podcast, Review the podcast. Join the Army at normal

843
01:00:09,520 --> 01:00:12,520
Speaker 1: Folks dot us and join the ten Level Challenge and

844
01:00:12,560 --> 01:00:16,880
Speaker 1: get a T shirt at ten Level Challenge dot org.

845
01:00:17,640 --> 01:00:20,400
Speaker 1: Do this stuff, any and all of these things that

846
01:00:20,440 --> 01:00:22,880
Speaker 1: will help us grow an army and normal folks because

847
01:00:23,680 --> 01:00:26,080
Speaker 1: the more of you working, the more impact we're going

848
01:00:26,120 --> 01:00:31,160
Speaker 1: to have. So get involved. I'm Bill Courtney. Until next time,

849
01:00:31,600 --> 01:00:32,240
Speaker 1: do what you can