The cafe opening inside Lexus of Naperville is certainly a nice amenity for customers looking for specialty coffees, teas or a smoothie. But for the eatery’s employees, it’s a potential lifeline.
The Chicago-area dealership’s Made to Inspire Cafe will be run and staffed by workers who have autism and who have been trained by a local private school dedicated to their needs.
The project was the brainchild of the dealership’s general manager, Randy Wolf. Nearly a decade ago, Wolf and his wife, who have a teenage son with autism, started the Turning Pointe Autism Foundation to help support other parents like them. Since 2011, the foundation has operated a day school for children with autism.
But as the first students of the school approached graduation, Wolf and the instructors began to ponder what lay ahead for them: Traditional colleges were not an option for most, and employment opportunities were bleak.
Turning Pointe Autism Foundation
1500 West Ogden Avenue
Naperville, IL 60540
Turning Pointe Autism Foundation
1500 West Ogden Avenue
Naperville, IL 60540
Turning Pointe Autism Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Turning Pointe Autism Foundation's Foglia Family Adult Services is a Certified Autism Center by the IBCCES.
Our organization does not discriminate in employment or the provision of educational services on the basis of race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin, disability, citizenship status, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.