Community Service Project

Marjorie MadfisPresident

Yes She Can Inc.

September 2014YesSheCanInc.org

Our Mission● Yes She Can Inc. is a new 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to developing job

skills and employment opportunities for teen girls and young women with autism.

● Our program is Girl AGain, a boutique for gently used American Girl dolls, clothes, furniture, accessories, and books.

● Workers at the store are both people with and without disabilities so that we have an inclusive setting.

– Our interns, trainees and volunteers prepare gently used merchandise for resale: they clean the dolls and the clothes, arrange complete outfits, determine prices, display the products, and work on inventory management, marketing, and customer service in the store.

● We provide training and processes to teach each job task, and workplace social skills. The goal is to develop skills and confidence so that Girl AGain trainees can then find meaningful employment with conventional enterprises that match their interests.

● Our mission is not only about helping people with disabilities, it is also about culture change: helping our whole community to accept and include people who are differently-abled.

How You Can Help

● We need more merchandise.

● Can you lead a collection drive?

● It's not hard. A little planning is all.

● Create a method of promoting your campaign for Girl AGain

● Determine a method of collecting donations and time period

● Arrange to give to Girl AGain

● Experience working with Girl AGain trainees and volunteers in our store

● Yes She Can Inc. has recommendations and can assist with this work. This should be a fun and rewarding project, an opportunity to not only provide the basis for work but to also have first hand experience in working side by side with our employees.

What Is The Need● Nearly 80% of adults with autism are unemployed today. (And those that do have

jobs are working part time and often for less than minimum wage.) Very few businesses, both large and small, make any effort to hire people with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities.

● Furthermore, many people with autism have skill to perform the job but are lacking the workplace social skills and resilience to keep the job.

● There is a need to develop job skills and workplace social skills for people with autism in a safe and accommodating workplace where training is the key mission, rather than maximizing profits.

● However the training must be in a realistic environment that replicates conventional for-profit retail businesses, and where skill development is transferable to traditional business enterprises.

● There is a need for businesses to demonstrate success with employment of people with developmental disabilities, to create models for training and human resource management, and for integration and inclusion with “typical” employees.

Where Is The Opportunity● Create a business where there is market demand, product supply and employee

expertise, and where we can leverage the expertise to create a differentiated competitive advantage.

● Leverage Expertise:

– My daughter and may other young women like her have great expertise in American Girl product line. They know each American Girl historical doll's story, their outfits including the retired ones, they love to interact with the dolls and read their books. They love going to the American Girl store for tea and shopping. They are very loyal customers and always will be.

– So like any good business strategy, we will take this passion and put it to work.

● There is Plenty of Market Demand:

– There are thousands of girls ages 3-12 in Westchester County demand for used and lower cost or rare and out of circulation merchandise. And there is a robust secondary market already to meet this demand.

– What differentiates Girl AGain is our attention to detail and the atmosphere we create in our store.

More About The Opportunity● There is Plenty of Supply

– American Girl has been in business for more than 25 years so girls who bought AG in 1993 at age 8 are now 28 years old, and have long outgrown their interest. There is plenty of merchandise sitting in attics and basements unused and ready for donation.

– There is a large secondary market for American Girl. Just look at eBay: about 100,000 listings and thousands on Craig's list as well as merchandise sold at yard sales and consignment shops.

● This Creates Work

– The beauty of the resale business is that there are many tasks that need to be done and employees can either specialize in what they like best or choose to expand their skills.

– Micro-tasks include: sorting through donated clothes and created complete outfits (skirt, shirt, jacket, shoes, socks for example); pricing products competitively by comparing prices on eBay; cleaning dolls; researching the doll's original hair style and styling the doll hair; price tagging the merchandise; shooting photos for Facebook; posting content on Pinterest; logging inventory, and much more.

What Are The Outcomes● Girl AGain provides the environment and opportunity to develop training processes

using proven methodologies from education and incorporating technology that can enable self-directed learning, repetition, and progression and reward.

● Our goal is to have many employees have 3 to 12 month employment experiences at Girl Again and then find employment at another business where they can use their skills and have a successful career

● Some workers may need more time or are happy to just work a few hours a week at Girl AGain.

● Between February 2014 when we opened and September 2014 we have had 9 trainees and 6 volunteers.

● We would like to serve more workers – and customers – but we need more merchandise.

● By the way, we also need a larger space

– 1000 square feet in mid Westchester County, NY

– On a bus line

– Where moms of 8 year old girls want to shop

Next Steps

Get started by contacting:Marjorie Madfis

Yes She Can Inc.914-428-1258

Marjorie@YesSheCanInc.org

YesSheCanInc.orgGirlAgain.com

Facebook: GirlAgainBoutique