FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KFSM) — Rockin Baker is a local business where not only bread is being made but lives are being changed.
“I honestly thought I would never have a job,” said Cameron Cook.
Cook started working at the bakery four months ago but says it took her two years to find a job.
“I had really given up hope until I found Daymara,” Cook said.
Daymara Baker started Rockin Baker three years ago.
“The mission of Rockin Baker Academy is to develop skills in people with disabilities so they can transition into permanent employment,” Baker said.
Cook remembers the exact moment she got the job.
“I was ecstatic, I was almost crying, me and my mom hugged and I think she cried a little bit,” Cook said.
Cook says it not only gave her a job, but it gave her a family.
Baker says she hopes she can set an example.
I truly believe in diversity, inclusion. You have this pool of candidates, it’s the right time and it’s the right thing to do,” Baker said.
Cook says the gift of employment has changed her life. She says she hopes it has the chance to change others with intellectual disabilities.
“You never know what you can find in a person until you actually look at a person,” Cook said.
The mission of Rockin Baker is to help people learn life skills and prepare people for the working world. They not only give jobs at the bakery but help people find jobs after being trained there.
The bakery is open every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.