John’s Crazy Socks is excited to announce that Jacob Greene from Huntington Station, New York has been selected as our Differing Abilities Design Intern for the summer of 2021. This position goes to a person with differing abilities who has the design skills that can assist in designing new socks for John’s Crazy Socks.
“This internship makes me so happy,” said Jacob. “I get to apply my design skills for a project that makes a difference.”
John Cronin, co-founder and Chief Happiness Officer at John’s Crazy Socks says, “We are glad to have Jacob join us for the summer. He will design great socks that our customers will love. And he is helping us with our mission to show the world what people with differing abilities can do.”
Jacob is an artist and student who happens to be on the Autism Spectrum. He is a graduate of Walt Whitman High School and has received his Associate’s Degree in Computer Arts from Suffolk Community College. Jacob is currently studying Digital Art at the New York Institute of Technology and will obtain a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts in December 2021
Jacob is already hard at work designing new Autism Awareness Socks among other designs. Kristin Fey, head of Product Development said, “Jacob is already showing impressive work.”
Showing What People with Differing Abilities Can Do
“At John’s Crazy Socks, we have a different type of business model,” says John’s Crazy Socks co-founder Mark X. Cronin. “We are a social enterprise. We are committed to offering awesome socks and making a difference. We have the world’s largest sock store with the best socks and personal customer service, and we use our business to show what people with differing abilities can achieve. We see a person’s ability, not a disability.”
The Design Internship is part of the commitment that John’s Crazy Socks makes to people with differing abilities:
- More than half our employees have a differing ability.
- Through ourGiving Back Program, we donate 5 percent of our earnings to the Special Olympics and donate money from many of our products to our charity partners including the National Down Syndrome Society, the Autism Society of America and United Cerebral Palsy. We have raised over $425,000 for our charity partners.
- We sponsor a $5,000Autism Can Do Scholarship.
- We are members of the CEO Commission on Disability Employment and the Autism @ Work Business Roundtable.
The unemployment rate among people with a disability is 80 percent yet many employers say they cannot find enough good workers. “The solution is simple,” says Mark X. Cronin, “hiring people with a disability is good business.”
