By Dave Krikac, CEO & Founder, Our Thrift Store, a program of The GEAR Foundation 

For my entire life, I have been a go-getter. I was born with a LOT of energy for SURE. Working in various fields throughout my life, from the police force to marketing to airplane building, my experiences have given me an extensive resume. Job security was never something that I worried much about, as I was confident in my ability to keep a good job – but one day, I was thrown for a loop that changed everything. 

In 2003, I was let go from my job as a result of the economic downturn, and soon realized that finding a new job was not going to be simple. I dedicated my time and efforts into securing a job for myself; but shortly thereafter, I had the revelation that my job was actually to secure a job for my daughter, who is autistic and found nothing but dead ends after her high school graduation. This change of heart came on strongly and suddenly, and my wife, Sandy, and I began to pursue the possibilities of this endeavor. 

Creating a job for Sara (or Princess Sara as she prefers to be called) quickly turned into a mission of creating jobs for other special adults in the community. We discovered that our family was not the only one who had been discouraged in the search for job opportunities for our special needs family member. The majority of available jobs tended to be things that were “left over,” the least desirable and those that paid minimum wage. There were very few environments that provided the nurturing and love that could build Sara and her friends up and give them dignified work – and we knew that that needed to change. Hence, The GEAR (Gainful Employment and Respect) Foundation was founded. 

READ MORE ABOUT NDEAM 2012: Establishing Gainful Employment and Respect – The GEAR Foundation