DALLAS — There’s a recent bakery in Uptown Dallas, and in the event you drove by you would possibly not even understand it was there.
It’s nestled contained in the Notre Dame School of Dallas, a Catholic school dedicated to students with disabilities and teaching them to turn out to be independent.
Meredith Pace has been a part of the staff for 14 years.
“It’s just probably the most joyful, glad job. I believe that shows how much I like what I do; it’s only a special place,” she said.
Combining her love of baking along with her desire to assist students, she began an after-school cookie club called “Happy Flour.”
“Since I used to be little, I remember standing on a stool with a mixer in my hand and never even having the ability to reach the counter,” she said.
What began as a small group of 10 students learning to measure, mix, and roll dough quickly grew right into a bustling bakery operation.
“Within two weeks, it was like… people were placing plenty of orders; it sort of became a business,” Pace said.
The popularity of Happy Flour spread through word of mouth, and the bakery contained in the cafeteria partitions officially became a business.
Pace recently hired her first part-time worker with special needs, Casey O’Brien.
“I felt glad and excited,” O’Brien said. “I wish to bake chocolate chip cookies because they’re my favorite.”
As a part of the varsity’s curriculum, students are required to carry jobs at various local businesses, including partnerships with Fuzzy’s and the Perot Museum.
Happy Flour has now joined this lineup, offering students a recent opportunity to realize precious work experience.
With 20 members now within the club, Pace hopes that is just the start. She currently takes orders online and dreams of opening a storefront in the longer term.
“It’s something that is fun, secondly, yummy, and third of all, there are such a lot of skill sets individuals with special needs can learn throughout the method,” she said. “I believe it is vital for people to see how capable our population is.”
