DECATUR, Ala. — A Decatur couple who operate a nonprofit thrift store that employs adults with developmental disabilities will launch a college-like day program this month focused on continuing education, social development and job training.
Jeff and Andrea Sharp, who operate Everyday Sunshine Thrift Store, said the idea for Everyday Sunshine University, or ESU, grew from seeing high school students with developmental disabilities participate in the nonprofit’s cooperative work program and then face limited options after graduation.
The Sharps were inspired to start the nonprofit because of their 19-year-old daughter, Amelie, who was born with a rare brain disorder, ataxic cerebral palsy and congenital cataracts. They said they wanted to create more opportunities for their daughter and other young adults with disabilities.
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Everyday Sunshine employs 11 or 12 adults with developmental disabilities, Jeff Sharp said, and also works with students from Decatur and Austin high schools through Ready, Set, Work, a cooperative work program sponsored by United Way.
“When they graduate (high school), everyone is looking for a spot, and right now we only have 12 spots,” Jeff Sharp said. “We were thinking, ‘What is everyone else going to do? What is our daughter going to do?’”
The idea for ESU took shape after the couple visited Unless U, a Birmingham-area nonprofit that provides continuing education, life-skills instruction and vocational development for adults with developmental disabilities.
The Sharps have visited Unless U three times and toured five similar programs around Alabama.
“We were sitting down eating lunch one day and Andrea just said, ‘So, I guess we’re starting a school?’” Jeff Sharp said. “I said, ‘I think we are.’”
ESU is intended to help fill the gap that can develop after adults with developmental disabilities leave the school system, Jeff Sharp said. The couple said they wanted participants to experience some of the independence, social interaction and choice associated with college.
“You go from being in school and seeing your friends and all of a sudden, it’s like you’re done,” he said. “You’re at home with your parents or grandparents and you don’t drive.”
ESU is scheduled to begin this week at The Church at Stone River on Danville Road Southwest, where it will use classrooms, a full-court gym and a commercial kitchen in the church’s Holistic Center.
Classes will meet Tuesday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
Adults with an intellectual or developmental disability will be eligible to attend. Andrea Sharp said the program will initially enroll no more than 24 students and could expand to about 40 in the spring.
Andrea Sharp said ESU is intended to give adults with developmental disabilities a safe, structured place to continue learning while also giving their families additional support and caregivers time during the day.
“It’s not only making a difference for these young adults, but their families as well because it is going to help them with respite,” Andrea Sharp said. “And just knowing there’s a safe, encouraging environment where their children can grow and they’re not just sitting at home.”
Unlike a traditional school, ESU will have no tests or homework. Instruction instead will focus on practical life skills, social skills and recreation.
“So, the math that we do will be change for a dollar and things like that,” Jeff Sharp said.
Students will practice skills such as handling money and making change and also will take field trips to practice life skills in public settings.
After lunch, students will choose electives based on their interests. Planned offerings include music, art, drama, creative writing, dance, basketball and pickleball.
Andrea Sharp said students and their families will be interviewed about their interests before electives are chosen.
“We’ll interview all the students and their families and find out what kind of electives they would be interested in,” Andrea Sharp said. “That gives it that college-life experience, being able to pick what they are interested in.”
Weekly tuition is $188 for four days and $110 for two days. Andrea Sharp said Everyday Sunshine plans to raise money to help cover tuition for families who cannot afford the full cost.
Everyday Sunshine has also received a United Way grant for ESU and is working with the Alabama Mountains, Rivers & Valleys Resource Conservation and Development Council to develop a sensory garden behind the church.
The nonprofit is accepting applications for students, volunteers and employees. Jeff Sharp said ESU is particularly interested in retired special education teachers and others with classroom experience working with people with developmental disabilities.
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