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TREP$

2 weeks ago

For Women's Entrepreneurship Day, we're celebrating Collette Divitto, a 30-year-old woman with Down syndrome, who after repeated job rejections for not being a "good fit" decided to strike out on her own and start her own cookie company! Four years after Collette Divitto founded Collettey's Cookies, she's sold hundreds of thousands of cookies and has hired 13 other people, including several with disabilities. "It is such a great feeling. I am so proud," she says. But Collette knows there is still a lot of work to do, especially to achieve her dream of helping more people with disabilities find employment. "My biggest challenge is reading all my emails," she says. "[There are] so many emails from people needing jobs so bad, and I want to help them now."

Collette perfected her craft in her family's kitchen for over ten years but, when she tried to make her love of baking into a career and applied for jobs at local bakeries, she was turned down countless times year after year. Finally, Collette, who said "it was really hurtful and I felt rejected a lot," had enough -- she started her own cookie company, Collettey’s Cookies, selling her signature cinnamon-dipped chocolate chip Amazing Cookie. She started out making 100 cookies per week for a local grocery store, but after a story by CBS Boston went viral in 2016, the surge of support allowed the young entrepreneur to move from a home-based business into an industrial kitchen in Boston and vastly expand production.

Collette's struggle to find work prior to starting her business is a common one for people with disabilities; according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10.7% of people with disabilities who are actively looking for work were unemployed in 2015, twice the rate of people without disabilities. To Collette, this reality "is very upsetting... It's very hard to find a paying job for people like me who have special needs." For this reason, she hopes to open more Collettey's locations across the U.S. in the future, explaining that "it's about getting jobs for everyone who deserves jobs." Collette also hopes to inspire other people with disabilities pursue their dreams and find their own paths to success. "Don’t let people get you down, and never give up," she asserts. "If you find a road block, then find another road."

To learn more or order cookies, you can visit Collettey's Cookies website at www.colletteys.com/shop

For books that show Mighty Girls there are no limits to what she can be, we highly recommend "ABC What Can She Be?" for ages 2 to 5 (www.amightygirl.com/abc-what-can-she-be) and "Dress Like A Girl" for ages 3 to 7 (www.amightygirl.com/dress-like-a-girl)

You can also find books, games, and other resources to teach kids of all ages about entrepreneurship, saving, and spending in our blog post "Manage Money Like A Mighty Girl" at www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=14495

For an excellent guide on how to make and manage money for girls ages 9 to 12, we recommend "A Smart Girl's Guide: Money" at www.amightygirl.com/smart-girls-money

And, for books for children and teens celebrating confident girls at every age, visit our "Confidence & Self-Esteem" book section at amgrl.co/2qxXQhH ... See MoreSee Less