1-800-Flowers.com has become famous for its fast delivery of floral arrangements, but the family who owns the business is now tackling one of the biggest issues in the IDD community: unemployment.

Despite having the desire, ability and willingness to work, about 80 percent of adults with IDDs are unemployed. The McCann family, who owns 1-800-Flowers.com, saw the issue occur with their own family member who has an IDD.

Their answer to the issue was creating Smile Farms, a nonprofit that hires people with IDDs to work at greenhouses. Employees grow plants and flowers that are sold to local florists and nurseries. The goal is to give people with IDDs an opportunity for meaningful, paid work where they can also feel a sense of community.

The nonprofit started in New York and is planning to grow across the United States over the next five years. To learn more about Smile Farms, check out the video below or visit their website, smilefarms.org. Find out the benefits of hiring people with IDDs in your workplace on our Employ page.