Sock Store Gives Job Opportunities To Adults With Disabilities

On a Thursday afternoon, Jordan Andreini mans the cash register at the newly opened SockStarz store, in West Hartford.

For Andreini - who has disabilities - her new job has become a source of pride and is the kind of responsibility she’s always dreamed of having.

“It’s like a dream come true,” said Andreini, a West Hartford resident. “I’m having so much fun.”

Andreini is one of a few adults with disabilities employed at SockStarz, a new business opened by Hartford-based nonprofit Harc, which serves adults with disabilities. The nonprofit opened the business in September with a grant that came to it through the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving’s social enterprise accelerator program. It is one of 10 nonprofit businesses launched through the project.

Andrea Barton Reeves, Harc’s president, said the West Hartford Center store serves two functions: to further support Harc programming and to provide job opportunities to people like Andreini.

“We’ve always wanted to start our own social enterprise to help fund our work,” Reeves said.

Harc’s application into the foundation’s social enterprise accelerator program was accepted, meaning it would gain access to 30 months of support to open the business. Support first came in the form of consultants, who would help the organizations guide their businesses.

They long had the idea to open a sock store and first tested it at a few pop-up shops. Their permanent shop now offers a variety of socks, including novelty socks and organic socks.

“The pop-ups were a huge success and that’s when we knew we were on to something,” Reeves said.

Now with their own business, Harc has a place it can employ its own clients and give others the experience they need to find a job outside of SockStarz.

“This will help provide some job training and job opportunities for people with disabilities,” Reeves said. “The idea is that we will have a chance to get people some training here and then go out and find other jobs in the community. There is really a crisis in finding dignified opportunities for people with disabilities."

Andreini is one of those employees who is receiving an opportunity she welcomes with open arms. At SockStarz, she is tasked with organizing socks, ringing up purchases, and sometimes heads to the nearby post office to drop off online orders. Those tasks are important responsibilities for her to have.

“My mom is so proud of me for being here,” Andreini said. “They are my parents. They love me a lot. They are proud.”

Andreini is proud of herself, too, she said, as entering the store for her first day of work wasn’t easy.

“It’s hard to take your first step,” Andreini said. “Transitions are really hard. It’s not easy. I like it here. I waited so long for it."

Reeves sees the experience as being a huge moment in the lives of Harc’s clients.

“For some of our employees, it has been transformational,” Reeves said. “When you realize how hard it is to find dignified work that is regular, this really allows us the opportunity to do that. The work has meaning.”

Reeves expects amped up business as the holiday season approaches, which should bode well for the business’ ability to support both Harc and the employee it is training. She sees expanded hours in the future, too, meaning there will be more opportunity for both of those goals to be completed.

“Things are going very well,” Reeves said. “We’ve had people come from all parts of the start who have read about it or have had family involved in it. It’s really been good.”

SockStarz is located at 18 LaSalle Road, in West Hartford. Socks are also sold online at sockstarzusa.com. The store is currently open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, and from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

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