On Monday, Sept. 28, Spectrum Designs will hold its second annual golf outing at Rockaway Hunting Club, America’s oldest country club. Proceeds from this event will help secure a more permanent home for Spectrum Designs, while also widening their services to more individuals with autism. Spectrum is asking the community to help support their second annual golf outing. The company has been making an impact on the lives of teens and young adults with autism through its social enterprise since 2011. A one-of-a-kind social enterprise, Spectrum is one of the very few businesses in the local area which reinvests all financial returns into the community to fill a societal void.
Through its customized apparel-decorating business, Spectrum has been helping individuals with autism lead meaningful lives through productive work. This year alone, over 30 teens and young adults were engaged in competitive employment or work readiness training. Spectrum Designs has also gained momentum in sales, as their integrated workforce targets sales of $1 million this year.
However, Spectrum’s success has not come without obstacles. “In the beginning we found that we had to ‘prove’ ourselves and earn the confidence of our target consumer,” said Nicole Sugrue, cofounder. Spectrum Designs is now the go-to T-shirt printing and apparel customization business for most of the local school districts and big businesses in the local area, as well as fulfilling orders nationwide.
Spectrum attributes its success to the support it has received from the local community and its residents. “We believe that the event will further support Spectrum’s ‘Believe’ Campaign, which is a campaign aimed to better understand what is important to our employees and their families and of course to grow Spectrum Designs as a whole,” says President and Cofounder Patrick Bardsley.
For more information about Spectrum Designs, visit www.spectrumdesigns.org.
