Our Mission
We are on a Mission to Bring Joy, Teach Skills, and Serve Community.
Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Love teams up with local service providers to offer adaptive culinary curriculum and workplace training to a population that is greatly unemployed. "According to a research study titled, 'National snapshot of adults with intellectual disabilities in the labor force', 'The unemployment rate for adults with Intellectual Disabilities/Developmental Disabilities (IDD) is more than twice as high as those without disabilities. 21% of working age adults with IDD are unemployed, compared to less than 8% of adults without disabilities who are unemployed.”
We are ready to change this!!! The grim statistic above highlight the need for social enterprises like Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Love committed to training individuals with disabilities in workplace skills and social skills that will lead to competitive employment. The training will help build confidence and be a catalyst to creating social capital through developing relationships with employers in the community.
More about the mission….
-
At Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Love, bringing joy is at belly of everything we do. We deliver delight through our signature creation—the ice cream ball: creamy, dreamy ice cream wrapped in crunchy, sweet cereal for the ultimate playful treat.
But it’s more than dessert—it’s a moment. We live for the smiles that appear when someone bites into their very first ice cream ball. That wide-eyed surprise, the shared laughter, the happy pause—it’s why we do what we do.
And the joy starts even before the first bite. When we drive around in our bright and cheerful ice cream bus, we see curiosity spark, heads turn, and smiles stretch across faces. It’s a rolling invitation to connect, to celebrate, and to enjoy something unexpectedly wonderful.
Whether we’re parked curbside or catering your special event, we’re here to make people happy. Because food brings people together. And joy? Well, that’s our favorite ingredient.
-
Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Love empowers individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through interactive hospitality training programs delivered on and off our bright yellow dessert bus. Our career readiness initiatives are designed to build real-world skills, boost confidence, and spark meaningful connections within the community.
Participants gain hands-on experience in a dynamic food service environment while developing essential workplace competencies—like communication, teamwork, and customer service. We also incorporate life skills such as financial literacy, workplace self-advocacy, and microenterprise exploration for those interested in launching their own business.
Programs are flexible and vary in length—from one-day career exploration pop-ups to multi-week on-the-job training experiences tailored to partner and participant goals. Beyond the skills, our training fosters social capital by connecting participants with community members, industry professionals, and potential employers.
Our bus is a vehicle for competitive, integrated employment and a more inclusive future in hospitality.
-
Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Love strives to challenge and change societal perceptions of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities by showcasing their incredible abilities. By actively participating in local events and creating space for inclusion, we help foster a community that values everyone’s unique contributions.
But our commitment to community goes even further.
We give back whenever we can—donating treats to shelters or community centers. We proudly offer discounted rates to our community impact partners, including nonprofits, churches, and schools who invite us to cater their events. And we invite local businesses and supporters to spread the love by sponsoring us to bring joy (aka Ice Cream Balls) to underserved communities.
Goodness Gracious Great Balls is a social change agent disguised as a food bus!
Let’s Partner
Does Your School or Nonprofit Support People with Disabilities?
Let's Collaborate, Join Forces, and, Combine Expertise!
We deliver turnkey career exploration and pre-employment training customized to support your mission and a' goals.
Offerings Include:
pre-employment training
on-the-job hospitality training
career exploration workshops
self-advocacy in the workplace training
budgeting and financial literacy, soft skills for workplace success
micro-enterprise startup support for individuals with disabilities looking to start their own business.
When you partner with us, we use our bright yellow dessert bus to elevate and promote your organization's mission throughout the community. We believe collaboration creates greater impact, and working together is always sweeter.
Interested in partnership? Contact Us.
What’s with the short bus?
We have intentionally chosen to build our food truck out of a "short bus”. The short bus has long been a symbol for the disability population and often times a symbol that has promoted stereotypes and led to exclusion for individuals with disabilities. We want to challenge this stereotype and transform this symbol to stand for inclusivity. We hope the bus will be a conversation starter and an opportunity to share more the history of the disability movement and the work we all have as a society to ensure a more equitable and accessible society for all individuals living with or without a disability.
