Have you heard about the AMAZING Prospector Theater in Ridgefield CT?
The Prospector Theater is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to providing competitive and inclusive employment to people with disabilities through the operation of a premium, first-run movie theater.
Employees of the Prospector, referred to as Prospects, are encouraged to sparkle, shine, and transform their passions into professions.
The Prospect Productions team creates high quality digital content for the Prospector Theater. Prospects working on the Production team learn in-demand trade skills such as storyboarding, filming, editing, sound & lighting design, post-production, audio engineering, photography, graphic design, animation, visual effects, and much more!
Video productions are used for pre-show content, educational experiences, PSAs, operating procedures, and entertainment! Over the last four years, Prospects have created over 1060 videos, garnering more than 17,000,000 views worldwide.
The Prospector Theater was founded by Valerie Jensen whose lifelong work started when her sister, Hope, was born in 1979 with Down syndrome. Talk about coming up with a successful and meaningful business concept!
As a First Run Movie Theater… each theater has stadium style seating and is fully accessible to those with physical disabilities.
Their Heads Up Cafe serves up the finest coffee, tea, beer, wine, and Prospector Popcorn! They have many flavors and buying popcorn is just one way you can support this wonderful business! Carefully curated beer selections and exceptional wines are available too.
BTW: When you visit the Café, take a look up at the dazzling penny ceiling. The pennies, hand-placed by Prospects, are all heads up – not for luck, but to symbolize the feeling one has when employed; we walk with our heads held high.
Valerie Jensen and Prospect Gabe Kavookijan joined me on the air to celebrated World Down Syndrome Day (March 21st).
Meet them both on this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show and hear all about the cool things they’re doing at The Prospector Theater in Ridgefield CT and …hear all about their new ‘Down To Sparkle’ Flavor of Popcorn!
