Inclusion Revolution – Championing for the Differently-Abled

Inclusion
Jobs
Dignity

Provide secure, successful jobs for individuals with intellectual and
developmental disabilities and spread our goal of inclusion for all.

Help change a life

Lives Changed

Get Involved

1

Donate

Make a difference. Change a life. Please donate to help us give a job to another individual with an intellectual or developmental disability.

2

Shop

Shop online at Rise Up Cafe. Every purchase supports our mission to provide secure, successful jobs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

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3

Volunteer

Pitch in at one of our amazing cafes or organize a fundraiser. Help transform a life, including your own! Volunteer today.

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4

Work at Rise & Nye's

Want to work at a Rise Up Cafe? Get in touch. We'd love to have you be a part of our "Rise Up Cafe Team!"

Become a Volunteer

Volunteer with Inclusion Revolution and help us provide secure, successful jobs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and spread our goal of inclusion for all. There are many ways for you to join our efforts. Contact us and we'll help find the perfect way for you to get involved.

Start an Inclusion Revolution

Follow Us on Instagram

Keep an eye on us and our amazing Rise Up Cafe Squad.

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Always brightening up the places that he and There

Always brightening up the places that he and Theresa visit with big smiles and bigger hearts. @yoursarasotarealtor and his lovely wife Theresa spent their Sunday morning volunteering their time at Rise Up Cafe to also brighten up our paint job! Thank you to all of our community volunteers for helping us gear up to reopen. It absolutely does take a village! We appreciate you!
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#sarasota #volunteer #riseup #onwardandupward #brightandbold #ittakesavillage

Maxine (our ice cream tricycle), Morgan, Vaughn an

Maxine (our ice cream tricycle), Morgan, Vaughn and Beaver love providing sweet treats for special events like this one at @sarasotaopera! Thanks for having us! Interested in having us bring our artisan ice cream to your next event, check out our events page on our website or stop in when we reopen for more information! See you soon!

Who doesn’t love a lil ZING! ⭐️ House made “Pickled Stuff” on the side for your Grilled Waffle Three Cheese, Sous Vide Tarragon Chicken Salad and Plant Based Vegan “Tuna Salad”! Um, FANCY! The team is ready to get back to work - see you October 10th for our grand re-opening!
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#pickledstuff #sammiesides #sarasota #sarasotacafe #diversityincludesdisability

Meat stick ice cream. 🤔 Here, Dylan is explain

Meat stick ice cream. 🤔
Here, Dylan is explaining to me that he wants to make a 🎄Christmas 🎄themed ice cream flavor called “Fa La La La La” for the upcoming holiday season and he creativity thought that a Slim Jim would be a good option for the trunk. What do you think about this ice cream flavor challenge???? 🍖 I bet we can make something happen because our shop does magical things! Tell us how you’d help Dylan make his dream ice cream happen in the comments ⬇️ ⬇️⬇️
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#icecreamchallenge #themayor #sarasota #meettheteam #autismacceptance #diversityincludesdisabilities #magic #sarasotaflorida #cafelife #lifeofanartist

“This summer I did my very first gravel bike rac

“This summer I did my very first gravel bike race in Nebraska. I rode my bike 31 miles on muddy gravel roads with the Adventure for All team. I felt great after the race because I trained so hard. I also did a 20-mile gravel bike race in Idaho, and I went rock climbing in Colorado.”

Meet Joey.

Joey has been taking piano lessons for the past 8 years. His favorite song to play is “Lean on Me”. - that’s a perfect song bud!! We all need someone to lean on at times. ❤️

“I love working at Rise Up Café. I am proud of myself. I enjoy meeting new people, making beignets, coffee, and scooping ice cream. I’m also an assistant coach at @nxtgeneration_wellness and @adventureforallfund . I enjoy helping the athletes get fit and learn new activities.” (We’ve all heard about your athletic accomplishments, maybe you can help start a fitness program at Rise Up for the team!) 🏋️‍♀️ 🏃‍♀️

I got my best haircut from @erin_shriver_srq , owner of Rise Up Cafe 😜. I looked super fresh! (Sorry Joey, I hung up my clippers to come work with YOU!!) it’s more fun at Rise Up Cafe!) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You’ve accomplished so much! What do you want to learn how to do next Joey?
“I want to learn how to use the cash register at work. That would be very cool.”

One of Joey’s happiest memories is winning a gold medal in tennis at the @specialolympics state games. So many talents! 🏅 🏅🏅🏅🏅

Joey’s favorite song? “Big Time Rush” by the band @bigtimerush.

Joey tells us that his favorite foods are pepperoni pizza 🍕 🍕🍕and cheesy bread. I do not like nuts, they are too crunchy. 🥜

Our very own fitness superstar and the rest of the gang look forward to seeing you very soon at Rise Up! Stop in and get some fitness and sports tips from this outdoor enthusiast! 🚲 🚲🚲

#diversityincludesdisabilities #riseup #sarasota #meettheteam #fitness #adventureforall #florida #specialolympics
@mariashriver @anthonykshriver @timothyshriver @shrivergroup

Todays training is covering everything from cappuc

Todays training is covering everything from cappuccinos to (UGH!) Dish washing but it’s all part of the job!

Day 1 of re-training with the gang! Amanda, Kristi, Kelley, Joey and Mary can’t wait to see you all soon! Save the date - October 10th!
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#diversityincludesdisability #team #coffeeshopvibes #leadershipinaction #riseup

With our new grab and go breakfast (or anytime!) i

With our new grab and go breakfast (or anytime!) items you can get your autumn fix in Florida (hello cooler temps! 😅) with our new seasonal “Pumpkin Spice Girl” (blended) Chia Pudding! Miss Ava will be in charge of making this Fall treat filled with nutritious chia, real organic pumpkin, oat milk, real maple syrup for a touch of sweetness and layered with vanilla oat milk yogurt and a touch of perfectly blended pumpkin spice. Each comes with an organic grain free granola topper too! You wanted dairy free, you wanted vegan, you wanted gluten free options Sarasota and we listened! More flavors to be announced soon along with one that’ll be capable of fulfilling your breakfast AND caffeine needs on your morning commute! Stay tuned! It’s almost time to reopen - October 10 - see you at Rise Up Cafe!
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#diversityincludesdisability #avaftw #chiapudding #sarasota #glutenfreerecipes #vegan #oatmilk #hangry #florida #dairyfreelife

Meet Caleb ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Caleb w

Meet Caleb ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Caleb was the lucky recipient of a custom suit from @tweedssuitshop he feels super stylish and wears it every Sunday 🤩 FANCY!! Thanks Donald!

Outside of work Caleb loves diamond art, word searches, coloring, ballroom dancing, puzzles and taekwondo.

Caleb loves when he gets trophies and medals in dance. He is very proud of himself for receiving a black belt in taekwondo. WHOA!! Way to go! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

This fall Caleb is looking forward to being happy and having fun at work with his friends. He is also going to get a second job! Do tell!

Caleb has a bestie named Georges. They love to play Wii Sports and all kinds of games!

Caleb’s golden Labrador retriever is named Sunni. He enjoys feeding her and playing with her outside.

Caleb’s favorite food is Ketchup because he believes everything tastes better with a lot of it!!! He is not a fan of vegetables. 🥕 🥕🥕

Caleb loves making beignets and giving samples of ice cream. He loves working with his friends and meeting all the people. He says all the people love him, and we sure agree with that!!!

You can meet up with Caleb soon at Rise Up Cafe when we reopen October 10th! Maybe he will teach you some dance moves… he also doubles as our bouncer. 🫣
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#meettheteam #riseupcafe #riseup #sarasota #diversityincludesdisabilities

“I wanted Boombacha Kombucha to be a beach worth

“I wanted Boombacha Kombucha to be a beach worthy fermented beverage that isn’t too sour and also not sickly sweet. Just right. Overall I want a clean drink that goes down easily that many people will enjoy.” - Robert Manley, founder and creator of Boombacha Kombucha. You’ll be able to get Boombacha on tap at Rise Up Cafe when we re-open on October 10th. We are all about supporting our fellow local Sarasota businesses. Made locally with love.

@boombachakombucha
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#riseup #sarasota #kombuchaontap #boombacha #smoothkombucha #localvore

So while we appear to operate like any other cafe,

So while we appear to operate like any other cafe, there’s a LOT more that goes into our menu items, planning and training in order to create an environment for our team to be successful. If we did things the same way other eateries did some of our gang might struggle more than someone without a disability so WE have to adapt, not them. Because of that I’m always on the lookout for tools and resources that make the job seamless for our team. For example, I discovered these nifty gadgets at @kingarthurbaking. Forming bagels by hand can be challenging for even a experienced baker so utilizing innovative tools like these bagel molds give us a consistent outcome every time and allows ALL of our team members to participate in making bagels for our supportive Sarasota customers. Something that seems extremely simple to most of us can take weeks of practice for some of our team so we appreciate it very much when great mission driven companies like King Arthur offer tools and resources that help our dedicated team succeed. Come on in soon for homemade bagels with a housemade schmears (including chipotle cheddar, bacon jam, garlic & fresh herb, dairy free pumpkin spice and more!). And the taste tester reviews are in - you don’t want to miss out on our MASSIVE, made with a great deal of love, “Not-Broken Bagels.”

-Erin And Beaver Shriver
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@mariashriver @shrivergroup @erin_shriver_srq .
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#bagelry #sarasota #floridalife #schmear #elevateyourgame #letsgrow #diversityincludesdisabilities

Well this is really a thing. If you’ve been in t

Well this is really a thing. If you’ve been in to our cafe before, please make a point to bring a buddy next time who may never have interacted with someone with autism or Down Syndrome and help us educate our Sarasota community! If you haven’t been in to our shop yet, stop on by and meet the gang. I promise, none of them bite! I’m the only one who bites 😉 but only if someone isn’t nice to our team members or if you ask things like “why do you work here? You don’t LOOK disabled” 🤦🏻‍♀️ please, don’t do that or Kelly might just have to tell ya that you don’t LOOK like you need a cup of coffee. 😘🤘🏼
All jokes aside, people really do say things like that and we understand that not everyone understands and we’re here to help educate. So please bring a newbie in with ya next time and introduce a friend to the magic of Rise Up… and grab a scoop of our new “Jacked Up Jones” ice cream! We open again on October 10th! 🍨
- Erin Shriver
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#autismemployment #downsyndromeawareness #diversityincludesdisabilities #sarasota #educationpositive
@mariashriver @shrivergroup @erin_shriver_srq

Mary and I had the BEST morning with @kingarthurba

Mary and I had the BEST morning with @kingarthurbaking virtual @zoom class creating the GREATEST CINNAMON ROLLS EVER! 🫶🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Stay tuned for Cinnamon Roll Saturday, coming soon to Rise Up Cafe! This is what are cafe is all about by the way. We want our gang to be part of every job in the shop so if they ever decide to move on from us, they’ll have the skills necessary to be effective on the job wherever they go! We look like a cafe with amazeballs ice cream, coffee drinks and lunch options but we’re really a job skills, life skills and educational program to help our team succeed beyond the 4 walls of our shop! Thank you for helping all of us grow!
#sarasota #riseup #kingarthurflour #kingarthurbaking #cinnamonrolls

This boisterous beauty has some body ink in the fo

This boisterous beauty has some body ink in the form of her favorite animal - a dolphin. 🐬 🐬🐬

Meet Ava…

In addition to working in various roles at Rise Up Cafe, Ava also volunteers at @motemarinelab once a week providing tours and education to visitors about marine life. 🐠 🦈 🪸

This gal has one heck of a work ethic and works yet ANOTHER JOB at @thehavensrq in the warehouse and loves spending time with her friends while there. If you’re not in the know about the super duper wonderful place The Haven is, check out their website www.thehavenSRQ.org 🫶🏼

Her favorite movie is any of the Pokémon or Harry Potter movies because she grew up with them and just totally fell in love. (Guess I’m going to have to create a Butterbeer ice cream flavor soon because who doesn’t LOVE Harry Potter! 🪄 🪄🪄

Come see Ava at Rise Up Cafe soon, you can’t miss her Jersey accent! It’s fabulous and we love her to bits!
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#riseupcafe #sarasota #meettheteam #motemarine #thehavensrq #winning #diversityincludesdisability @mariashriver @timothyshriver @anthonykshriver

This is what happens when you believe and really u

This is what happens when you believe and really understand that humans of all abilities are capable of so much more than we think! One of our evening team members, Vaughn, made these bagels today with me and geez Louise he made it look easy! Way to go!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to @breadwright and @kingarthurbaking for the best ingredients and those super helpful online videos! Whew! 😅 😅😅We’re on our way to making fresh bagels at @rise_up_cafe! While our bagels may look a little different, our “Not Broken Bagels” are full of love and goodness on the inside. 🫶🏼🤘🏼⭐️

xx
Erin Shriver ❤️
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#kingarthurflour #riseup #bagel #madewithlove #sarasota #diversityincludesdisability #notbrokenbagels #florida
@mariashriver @erin_shriver_srq @garyvee @shrivergroup

We had a woman come into the shop yesterday just t

We had a woman come into the shop yesterday just to tell us that she wouldn’t come in as a customer because our sign highlighted that we employ people with disabilities and she thought it was insulting to our team members. 🤕
Here’s the thing. We don’t like having to do that either but until hiring people with physical and intellectual disabilities is NORMALIZED and EVERYONE is hiring them, we kinda gotta tell people that’s what we are doing so that when you come in, you’re aware and can experience for yourself that they are extremely capable of working in many different industries and our hope and goal with our supporting non profit, Inclusion Revolution, is that some other local business owners will approach us about how to hire even just one of the 300+ applicants that we have. We keep hearing from other business owners “we can’t find people to work”, yet we literally have over 300 applicants waiting for a job opening at our shop and desperately want to work. We hire them, because others won’t. If you are a business looking for employees, please contact us to start that discussion. We would love to take down our signs one day and have them just say “Cafe”.
Diversity Includes Disabilities. Let’s normalize hiring people of all abilities so that this isn’t a “thing” anymore. Happy Sunday!

xx
Erin Shriver
@mariashriver @garyvee
@erin_shriver_srq @shrivergroup
@thehavensrq
@sarasotamagazine
@kingarthurbaking

#disabilityemployment #disabilityawareness #disabilitypride #sarasota #coffeeshop #gourmeticecream #bagels #inclusionrevolution #morningmusings

If you see something purple, green, blue, yellow,

If you see something purple, green, blue, yellow, orange or red in our shop, I can promise you that it’s made with organic and/or natural plant based alternatives that are safe for our bodies and minds. This can be especially important for people with Autism and ADHD!

“A meta-analysis linking autism and food colors was published in early 2020 and had some ground-breaking discoveries. It clearly outlined that food colors Blue 1 and 2, Green 3, Red 3, Yellow 5 and 6, Citrus Red 2, and Red 40 can trigger many behaviors in most kids, specifically hyperactivity. They also found there to be a specific correlation between yellow dye and sleep disturbance.” @autismdietitian @erin_shriver_srq @shrivergroup @thehavensrq

I don’t know about you but don’t mess with my sleep! 😴

We can’t wait to introduce our new menu items, grab and go healthy breakfasts, snacks and artificial dye-free ice cream! We can do a lot with plants 🌱
#artificialdyefree #dyefree #naturalfoods #icecream #organicingredients #sarasota #cleaningredients #adhddiet #autismdietitian #autismdiets

Meet Mary. She’s not a fan of cucumbers…. 🥒

Meet Mary. She’s not a fan of cucumbers…. 🥒 🛑

This very spirited young lady is a power house with the absolute best and biggest laugh and smile at Rise Up Cafe and boy is she ever accomplished! In fact she joined my husband Rise Up founder, Beaver Shriver, on stage to receive our coveted Community Impact Award recently from the Chamber of Commerce! Big stuff! (Mary and Beaver pictured on stage to receive the award)
⭐️ 🥇

Mary likes to go to Disney so much because doctors told her parents she’d never be able to properly talk and since she was 5 1/2 years old she began talking and Disney has done many magical things for her since she was a little girl in that regard.

Mary tells me that it was amazing getting to represent FL for the Special Olympics USA Games last June. There were 1,500 athletes around the country there and she competed in swimming and got a Gold and 2 Bronze medals and now she says that she has amazing memories and friends from the games!

Mary loves working at Rise up Cafe and says that she enjoys
“just being where I feel welcomed and appreciated and loved by everyone around and finally having a work family”.

Mary’s other interests include baking (and she will be helping me in the Rise Up kitchen soon as part of our Creative Culinary Team!); she loves to bake pies , cookies, brownies and cakes (that come from a box) but everything else she makes is homemade.

Stop by to see us soon and taste one of her delectable homemade treats from our shop kitchen!
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#sarasota #communityimpact #awards #coffeshops #winnerwinner #riseup
@mary__russell25 @shrivergroup @erin_shriver_srq

❗️❗️❗️ Re-Opening Date Announcement❗

❗️❗️❗️ Re-Opening Date Announcement❗️❗️❗️

I scream, you scream, we ALL scream, for GRILLED C

I scream, you scream, we ALL scream, for GRILLED CHEESE! 🥪🧀🥪🧀🥪🧀
We finalized our new Waffle Grilled Cheese Sammies today and dang! That’s all we have to say. 🤤

The gang is going to be attending some new Rise Up Cafe training very soon so we can serve up some gooey cheesy goodness on locally made fresh bread to Sarasota!
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#sarasotaflorida #sarasota #cheeselover #grilledcheesesandwich #riseup #inclusionrevolution

Ms. Maxine, our gourmet ice cream tricycle, is get

Ms. Maxine, our gourmet ice cream tricycle, is getting a makeover today! I love a good glam up! Thank you @speedprosrq for getting our signage ready for our re-opening!

#glamsquad
#diversityincludesdisability
#RiseUp
#sarasotaflorida

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