Sarah Bellum's Bakery & Workshop (SBBW)

Mission

At Sarah Bellum's Bakery & Workshop, we empower adults with acquired brain injury (ABI) to re-engage in the community and to rebuild a sense of meaning, purpose, and identity through return-to-work in our functional rehabilitation bakery program. Adults with ABI learn transferable job skills, gain self-awareness, gain self-confidence, and learn to self-advocate for their needs in our supportive bakery. We include peer supports and rehabilitation therapists who provide best practices in ongoing, community-based supports. Sarah Bellum's Bakery gets is name from a play on words for the cerebellum, an important part of the brain that is the coordination center. 🧠🧁

Bottom Line for Portland

Your donation helps us provide our unique program to support more than 50 adults with ABI to re-engage into our community following a life-changing brain injury. ABI--from concussion, stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain infection, lack of oxygen, and many other causes--changes one's entire life in an instant. ABI affects over 3 million Americans every year. There are few resources to support adults with ABI in our community, especially after medical rehabilitation ends. We receive no governmental funding or support. Providing meaningful and supportive return-to-work opportunities empowers adults with ABI to gain financial, social, and personal independence. 

Quote

“When I started [at the bakery], I worked seated at the cash register and was in a wheelchair. My role was to greet customers, tell them about the mission of the bakery, and ring up purchases on an iPad. It was a perfect venue for working on my speech and honing my social skills. Both of these have improved significantly as a result…. Since then, adding baking shifts has really improved my capacity to work standing, and my efficiency has shown gains too. Now I am beginning to walk independently, and I am making cupcakes. I am now also able to travel to and from my shifts on public transport which builds my sense of independence…. It is so heartening to be receiving a paycheck again.” -Dave N, survivor of a severe TBI at age 24

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Our focus is to support equitable access and reduce barriers for adults with disability due to ABI. This disenfranchised population is not well understood in the public, and faces discrimination and exclusion due to disability. We empower adults with ABI to view challenges as differences and assets, and focus on individual strengths. We promote public awareness and advocate for equitable access and reducing barriers to inclusion. 

Incentives

Donations will be matched thanks to a generous, anonymous donor who will match up to $10,000 in G!G donations this year. 

Also, individual donations over $50 will receive a code for a free 4-pack of mini cupcakes from Sarah Bellum's Bakery & Workshop. 

Partner(s)

Brain Rehabilitation Network (BRN) is a comprehensive brain injury rehabilitation program in Portland, OR.

The Lund Report is a  local independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit, online news source.