☕ changing the world for people with disabilities

Amy Wright (center) with her children Beau (left) and Bitty (right) at the grand opening of Bitty & Beau’s Coffee in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Four years ago, Amy Wright was named the CNN Hero of the Year. She had founded Bitty & Beau’s — a coffee shop with a mission to employ people with disabilities. What started as one coffee shop has now grown to 23 across the country, with plans to open another 14 next year.

Wright credits CNN Heroes with accelerating the shop’s success.

“Being honored by CNN with the Hero award was truly one of the highlights of my life,” Wright told CNN. “It was such an exciting evening, but even leading up to that it really helped us reach people across the country.”

CNN Heroes celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. On Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, CNN will honor 10 people changing the world and name one the 2021 CNN Hero of the Year.

Wright was inspired to open the coffee shop by two of her children — Bitty, now 12, and Beau, now 17 — who were born with Down syndrome.

“I think back to when Beau was born especially. And I think just the fear that washed over me, not knowing what his future would look like. Not knowing if he would ever talk or walk — if he would ever find friends or love,” said Wright. “And that was just me not knowing anything about Down syndrome. That's something we've learned along the way. … Just educate people. Just bring them into your world.”

Wright winning CNN’s Hero of the Year award in 2017.

Wright wanted to show her community that people with disabilities are capable.

“Eighty percent of people with disabilities are unemployed,” she said.

In 2016, Wright and her husband, Ben, opened the first Bitty & Beau’s Coffee in Wilmington, North Carolina, their hometown. The shop employed 19 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They now have nearly two dozen shops in 12 states and employ more than 200 people.

“One of the requirements when you open a Bitty & Beau's Coffee is the majority of your employees have to have disabilities,” said Wright. “There's somebody on staff that is there to support them. But the majority of the hires do have disabilities.”

Each new hire across the country gets a warm welcome, complete with a surprise apron ceremony.

Workers are surprised with an apron ceremony when they’re hired.

"We surprise them with a job offer. Because for most of them, they've never been offered a job before,” said Wright. “It's fun to get the whole family and friends in on the surprise. We'll show up maybe at their church or at a ball field or wherever it is that we can pull off a surprise. And we sneak up with an apron.”

When the pandemic hit in 2020, Wright and her team made the difficult decision to temporarily close all their shops to customers. They kept employees engaged with companywide teleconference calls.

“We wanted them to feel connected and let them know that no matter what happened, we were reopening,” said Wright.

When the shops fully reopened months later, customers came streaming back. Wright credits the employees for the atmosphere they create. She says it’s what makes every shop a staple, no matter what community it’s in.

“We all got really used to staying at home and having things delivered to us. … If you were going to leave your house, you wanted to leave for something good. You wanted an experience, right? Coming to a Bitty & Beau's Coffee is an experience. And you can't get that delivered to your door,” said Wright.

She has plans to take Bitty & Beau’s global.

“This problem exists everywhere. And as bad as it in the United States, it's worse most everywhere else,” said Wright. “[These shops] are changing every life that walks through the door, because the greatest impact of a Bitty & Beau's Coffee is when guests come and they see what's possible. And they go back to their lives and they welcome someone with a disability in a different way.”

Hear more from Amy Wright and other CNN Heroes at 9 p.m. ET Saturday during the one-hour special “CNN Heroes: 15 Years of Changing the World.” You can watch the "15th Annual CNN Heroes All-Star Tribute” live at 8 p.m. ET Sunday.