KarunaNews Story

Prospector Theater in Ridgefield, Connecticut has been providing job opportunities to people with disabilities for a decade through the operation of a four-screen movie theater, e-commerce popcorn business, and other jobs. The nonprofit tries to give its employees meaningful employment that plays to each individual's strengths and interests. They call this “sparkle.” Prospects can use their sparkle in a number of roles, from box office, concessions, ushering, and cleaning crew to its own production team that makes all of the pre-show content and marketing and social media content. The theater has its own cafe that serves a variety of coffee drinks and alcoholic beverages and its own brand of gourmet popcorn made in-house. The nonprofit has more than a hundred employees. More than three-quarters of them self-identify with a disability. The theater pays every prospect above minimum wage to allow them to be financially independent. Since its start, the theater has employed more than 300 people and paid more than $27 million to prospects.