A few weeks ago, my wife Bev found three tiny birds’ nests in the small maple tree in our front yard. A few days later, I saw finches hopping about the branches. So we decided to get a finch feeder to hang in the tree.
Bev bought a feeder prefilled with Nyger seed which soon had gold finches gathered on its perches. What a gift from God!
But the feeder itself delighted us as well. It’s a Mr. Canary feeder manufactured by the Mitchell Marketing Group from Carmel, Indiana. The packaging features the symbol of a person in a wheelchair, with this explanation, “Since [1995], the Mr. Canary® line has been produced entirely by qualified workers with disabilities.”
It’s very difficult to find reliable statistics on employment of people with disabilities, though I have read before that about 80% of people who are deaf and about the same percentage of people who are blind are unemployed or underemployed.
Many people with disabilities carry excellent qualifications, but employers write them off out of ignorance or fear. Diversity, Inc. has a fine little article on myths of hiring people with disabilities.
Thanks, Mitchell Marketing Group for recognizing and hiring qualified workers who have disabilities. If you think this is a good idea, send them a note of thanks. Walgreens is making an intentional effort to hire people with disabilities as well.
The Lord clearly welcomed people with disabilities into his life, and told one of his most famous stories about hospitality toward people living with disabling conditions (Luke 14:15-24) If you are employer, please considering becoming intentional about hiring people with disabilities. It’s good business strategy and moves your business a bit closer to the coming kingdom of God.
