Why Do Good Donuts Bakes A More Inclusive Workforce In Toronto

Welcome to Do Good Donuts, the employment social enterprise donut shop that bakes futures for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

You might be here because you’ve heard about our amazing plant-based donuts. Or perhaps you’re looking for a supportive employment opportunity for a young person with autism, Down syndrome, or global developmental delay. Maybe you just saw someone wearing one of our sweet t-shirts, and you wanted to know the story behind the little donut tent park with a big dream. We want to change how people think about employing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

Here’s how the donut shop for youth with disabilities began.

I’m Melanie, the founder of Do Good Donuts. I remember the day so clearly. Just under nine years ago, we were in the geneticist’s office, talking about the future. We were there about the results of the microarray test done on our baby. She was five months old. 

The diagnosis was Williams syndrome. There is a good chance you’ve never heard of it; until Alma came along, neither had we.

The outlook was scary and grim – I remember sitting there and looking at this sweet, tiny sleeping baby and wondering how all these sad, lonely things he was saying could be true – she would have a hard time making friends and likely wouldn’t ever read. She probably wouldn’t go to college or get a job… we should prepare to have her living with us for life as the chance of her living on her own was slim.

Then there were the potential medical complications, the social challenges present with her syndrome and the long, long road ahead. Of course, they tempered these statements with the notion that the future was not yet written, and anything could happen. But even as the doctor spoke these words, you could see that even he didn’t believe what he was saying.

The strangest thing is that I DID. I had to believe that my daughter’s diagnosis did not define her future – it was just one small part of who she is and what she will become.

 And you know what? I still do.

People with developmental and intellectual disabilities like Autism, Down syndrome, Williams syndrome and more face a staggering 85% unemployment rate. As I get to know more and more amazing disabled young people, I have wondered, “How much of this lack of employment has to do with their inability to fulfill the roles, and how much of it has to do with people thinking, as those doctors did, that work is simply beyond their grasp.”

 At its heart, Do Good Donuts is about seizing the opportunity to rewrite the story for young folks like Alma and build a world where we create pathways that turn possibility into reality.

 Creating an employment social enterprise from scratch is not for the faint of heart. To be completely honest, it’s exhausting. But living under the “umbrella of doom” handed to us at that appointment was worse. This is a different kind of exhaustion – where you feel you can’t take another step, but you also know you aren’t going to miss out on that finish line. You just keep moving forward.

 It can also feel very lonely, though I count myself lucky to have never been alone for long.

 I was fortunate to have gone through the initial ideation with the fabulous team at TEF, Toronto Enterprise Fund and went through the building of the feasibility study and business plan with their guidance. From there, I was joined by an incredibly supportive board of directors and together, we established our business structure. Once the veil of the pandemic began to lift in 2021, we were accepted into our first Farmers Market in Leslieville and shortly after had a successful pitch to join the Ryerson Social Ventures Zone.

 Our program is twofold. We are both a working food business and an inclusive paid on-the-job training program, which means we are learning how to do both simultaneously, as we’re doing it. I like to think of it as glazing the donut while we’re frying it. During our first pilot last summer, we hired and trained three fantastic young adults who exceeded all expectations. We sold more than 5000 donuts and nearly 3000 cookies. We also met countless families that included a person with an intellectual or developmental disability. That is a lot of good for a wee tent in a Farmer’s market in a park.

Now, we’re two years in! For 2023, we hope to scale to working 12 months a year, This would mean we could employ twice as many young people with disabilities, sell twice as many donuts and, most importantly, begin the campaign to raise enough funds to open a full café and bakery in Toronto.

 We’re so glad to have you with us on this journey and can’t wait to see you next spring at Greenwood Park. You’ll be able to preorder your donuts for opening day. Sign up for our newsletter now to stay up-to-date with all the news on our donut shop that hires youth with disabilities.