We are Lisa & David Cooper, high school sweethearts that got married in 1987, that means we have been married for nearly 32 years! Our first child, Zachary was born in 1989 & to our surprise, Zach was born with several challengers Down syndrome, a cleft palate, congenital cataracts and hearing issues. We were over- whelmed with medical information & having a neonatologist in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit tell David that we didn’t have to take Zach home with us, they could make some calls & we could sign some papers & just leave him when I was discharged didn’t make it any easier. David told the doctor that Zach was our son & he would be going home with us.
Zach has had many surgeries & overcame medical issues with out complaining. He has taught us to see the glass is always full & being his parents has made us better people.
It has been our dream for well over 15 years to own a business where Zach could work side by side his dad & allow us to hire other individuals with intellectual & physical disabilities. We also knew we wanted our business be able to assist the Exceptional Children’s Teachers & Occupational Course of Study (OCS) students at our local high school.
One night at dinner we were talking about what kind of business we should have & out of the blue Zach said “I want a doughnut shop.” From that night on, we knew that one day we were going to have a doughnut shop.
The time is NOW, the doughnut shop will be known as Down for Doughnuts & our tagline is Made to Inspire. We will offer doughnuts, muffins, coffee & other assorted foods & drinks. we already have a relationship with a world class coffee company that will set us apart from all others. Our staff will consist of one full time manager & 4-6 individuals with disabilities. The funds needed are for equipment & retro fit of a location we already have access to. The location is on a main route with a high volume of traffic.
