WhirliDogs celebrates successes at ribbon-cutting ceremony

Wesley Trump, project manager for WhirliDogs, said things have gone better than expected through the first quarter of operation.

“I thought we would need all kinds of volunteers to help our teammates,” Trump said. “These guys have stepped up. They’re so responsible. They’ve learned their stations, and they’re very independent. I’ve just been so pleased, and I think their families have been so incredibly grateful.”

WhirliDogs Café and Training Center celebrated its first four months of operation with a ribbon-cutting ceremony presented by the Wilson Chamber of Commerce Monday afternoon.

WhirliDogs’ mission is to deliver the “power of possibility” for adults with disabilities.

Trump said through the business’ first four months, 20 total staff members put in 3,401 hours of employment and were paid more than $41,000.

“They’ve really done an excellent job,” Trump said. “We have 16 teammates. The cool thing is to see them come on their days off and buy lunch for their grandmother or family. That’s the most heartwarming piece of it.”

Trump said as good as it is for the young people working, it’s just as good for their parents to see what’s being done.

“When you’re a parent of an exceptional child, there’s a lot of heartache and a lot of disappointment,” Trump said. “There’s a lot of exclusion. There just is. It’s just as good for the parents to have that hope as the kids. It’s so important for the parents to see.”

Trump said some WhirliDogs staff are already moving on to the next thing in life. She said one teammate will be taking classes at Wilson Community College’s culinary school this fall.

Internally, Trump is leading a ServSafe food handler certification course on July 30 and 31. She said three have already signed up and she can take up to seven more for the class.

“I can’t guarantee that they can work here,” Trump said. “When they fill out the application, they understand that. It’s something they can add to their resume if they wish to work other places. The long term goal is that they get this good first experience and want to go out and work more.”

Trump said the organization’s growth has been right on time and right on pace.

“It’s growing kind of organically, and it has really kind of grown at the perfect pace for what we’re able to do,” Trump said. “I don’t want them to go out and be just good workers. I want them to be the best. We do have checklists that they go by, and we’re pretty strict. If we’re slow, it’s the old, ‘If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.’ I’ve recently developed some lists to put up because we want to be busy. They want to do things. Making sure our place is very clean is important to me.”

For more information about WhirliDogs, along with donation and volunteer opportunities, visit the Facebook page or the restaurant website, www.WhirliDogs.com . WhirliDogs is located at 215 Goldsboro St. S.

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