Bean Box Wins 2021 Governor’s Award for Small Private Employer

Written by Mary Sheely, Communications Director at the Northwest Center

Seattle, WA – November 1, 2021 – The Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues and Employment (GCDE) has announced Bean Box as the 2021 recipient of the Governor’s Award for Small Private Employer. The annual awards ceremony recognizes employers for exemplary work recruiting, hiring, retaining, and promoting people with disabilities.

Bean Box earned this accolade for its commitment to hiring people of abilities. Since 2020, the coffee subscription company has hired nine employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities to work at its product manufacturing center in Seattle’s Georgetown area.

“Bean Box has always sought to build an inclusive, diverse workforce, and our partnership with Northwest Center has helped us fulfill that promise, creating meaningful employment opportunities for all of our team members,” said Ben Adler, VP of Operations. “We’re honored to accept this award, but even more proud of the work we’re doing with our team by focusing on capabilities, not limitations.”

Bean Box was nominated for this award by partner organization Northwest Center. As a leader in advancing equal opportunities for children and adults with disabilities, Northwest Center continues to support Bean Box’s commitment to creating an inclusive workspace.

“Since mid-2020, Northwest Center has had the honor of working with Bean Box to help close the employment gap for people with disabilities,” said Northwest Center Vice President of Employment Services Jenn Ramirez Robson. “Bean Box is an incredible partner in inclusion, and their success employing multiple people with disabilities at a comparatively small business is a terrific example for all businesses. Bean Box shows that inclusive hiring practices aren’t just a gesture, but a smart business practice that benefits the entire workplace.”

Northwest Center provides outsourcing solutions that meet the manufacturing and service needs of small and medium sized businesses, Fortune 500 companies, local government offices, and large federal agencies. 

ABOUT NORTHWEST CENTER

Northwest Center (NWC) is one of the nation’s largest and most comprehensive organizations serving the community with disability inclusion programs and services that advance equal opportunities for people of all abilities. NWC was founded in 1965 by Seattle parents who refused to give up when their kids with disabilities were rejected from schools, and who went on to pass legislation guaranteeing an education to kids with disabilities. Today, Northwest Center provides Early Supports and inclusive Early Learning for children from birth to school age, Employment Services to adults with disabilities in counties across Washington state and in Northern Idao, and is rapidly expanding inclusive early learning by training other organizations how to include kids with disabilities. For more information, visit www.nwcenter.org

ABOUT BEAN BOX

Bean Box curates, sells, and fulfills a wide range of unique Specialty Coffee tasting experiences, sourced from their network of 50+ artisan coffee roasters across the United States. Bean Box tasting products provide an all-access pass to the world’s best artisan coffee, allowing coffee lovers to enjoy an endless variety in the comfort of their own kitchen. Learn more, and have better mornings, by visiting beanbox.com.