Focus on Abilities, Not Disabilities, Makes for Mutually Beneficial Partnership between Saltability and Lake Area Industries

Focus on Abilities, Not Disabilities, Makes for Mutually Beneficial Partnership between Saltability and Lake Area Industries

LAKE OZARK, MO – Saltability, a spa industry vendor that provides quality Himalayan salt stone treatments and products for resort, day, medical and destination spas, has partnered with Lake Area Industries (LAI) for fulfillment of product packaging and labeling. A nonprofit organization, LAI employs approximately 70 developmentally disabled people in Camden County, Missouri. Since April 2016, LAI workers have been weighing and bagging Himalayan salts and labeling Saltability products for wholesale and retail purchase.

Developed by spa industry veteran Ann Brown to offer a more environmentally friendly, healthier alternative to traditional stone massage, Saltability works closely with spa partners to train therapists on specific protocol for Saltability’s Himalayan salt stone massages, manicures and pedicures and to equip spas with Himalayan salt stone enhancements and products for retail sale.

“As a new and growing company, we are continually searching out the best ways to do business — from an efficiency and cost standpoint and in consideration of what lines up best with who we are,” said Ann Brown, Saltability founder. “I want everything we do at Saltability to be filled with intention and a spirit of giving back to others. Choosing LAI for support enables us to maintain quality for our product packaging and helps employ those who may not be able to work otherwise.”

According to Tiffany Maasen, LAI executive director, the mission of LAI is to provide training and job skills to developmentally disabled individuals to help them achieve their greatest potential.

“We are there to support, encourage, provide job skill training and give workers a setting where they are amongst their peers,” Maasen said. “We understand their physical limitations and adapt to help them. We focus on abilities, not disabilities.”

In accordance with state and federal guidelines, LAI pays per piece for the work produced, and workers are able to work and earn according to their abilities.

Packing jobs are good for the workshop setting, according to Maasen, and some workers earn higher than minimum wage. For example, some workers have the ability to perform a repetitive job, over and over again, perfectly and with consistency.

“We bid jobs at competitive rates that any for-profit company would bid,” Maasen said about their business model.

“Some of our employees are limited by physical ability, and here they are able to sit in a comfortable, climate-controlled environment,” Maasen said. “Our employees are really proud of the job they do, and they are careful to provide quality work. They love being part of something and doing something they can see in the marketplace.”

“LAI has the quality control measures in place to ensure great work, and it is meaningful to our company to be able to pay it forward with our connection with LAI,” Brown said.

Through LAI, employees are able to earn a paycheck and contribute to the local economy. Without LAI, many would not be able to work, according to Maasen.

“It's often difficult for our employees to find other jobs,” Maasen said. “Without LAI and without companies like Saltability, many would be homebound with very little socialization. Instead they choose to come to work every day, and they take great pride in what they do.”

Saltability features 100 percent pure pink Himalayan salt mined from the Himalayan mountain range in Pakistan through socially, environmentally responsible manufacturing. For more information, visit saltability.com.

Lake Area Industries is a nonprofit organization that employs approximately 70 developmentally disabled people in Camden County, Missouri. For more information, visit lakeareaindustries.org.

 

Photo caption: Workers at Lake Area Industries, a non-profit organization in Camden County that employs developmentally disabled workers, fill Himalayan salt bags for Saltability, a spa industry vendor.

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