This summer, people supported by AHRC Day Services visited John’s Crazy Socks’ warehouse in Farmingdale. The company is a well-known retailer of bright socks and as an employer of people with disabilities. The visits were initiated by AHRC’s activities team as an inspiring reminder of what is possible when a person receives the support to bring their ideas to life. Men and women attended tours in groups of 5-6 with their support staff and had the opportunity to learn from John Cronin (the John of “John’s Crazy Socks) ask questions, and pack orders.

John is a person with a disability who founded “John’s Crazy Socks” with his father. After John graduated from high school, they went on a mission together to spread happiness and in doing so built a social enterprise that incapsulated John’s love of whimsical socks.

Upon arriving for the tour, attendees were greeted in a conference room where they watched a video detailing John’s journey into entrepreneurship. Then, they were led to the production floor where they saw the magic happen. Nakia Bills, who receives services in Farmingdale, was surprised at the sheer number of products on display.

“My favorite thing was seeing the big space,” said Nakia. “There were a lot of boxes of socks everywhere.”

Nakia made a point to congratulate John on his success and was happy to take her goody bag home at the end of the tour. It included stickers, lollipops and a fun pair of blue, orange and white socks.

The day before their visit to the warehouse, people supported at the Glen Head hub site explored John’s social media and watched a few videos to learn more about him and his business.

On tour day, the group had plenty of questions for him. Pauline Wisz and Elizabeth Mahoney made a point to ask John why he called it Crazy Socks and if he ever took a day off from his bustling business.

John shared that he does take days off and enjoys vacations thanks to the hard work of his fantastic team, but he doesn’t like to be away for too long since he loves his work.

He also shared that he came up with his business name because he always liked to wear socks that were different and eye catching, and that, “John’s Crazy Socks,” was only fitting.

The next day, the group shared the highlights from the warehouse visit during their morning overview. “The people who participated shared their experience, talked about what they learned, and the others decided that wanted a tour as well,” said Glen Head Assistant Site Manager Sondra Baggott.

During the briefing, those on the warehouse tour shared how inspiring it was to see a person with a disability, a person like them, create such a successful business. They discussed the importance of personal outcome measures¬—which encompass a person’s life goals, how to achieve them and which steps to take to reach them—and how it’s important for anyone with a passion to pursue it.

They also shared photos from their visit, which inspired the people who couldn’t go this time around. After seeing their peers’ goodie bags and learning about how much fun they had, they mentioned to their staff that they would like to visit the warehouse as well.

“We’re planning to return sometime in October,” said Sondra.

The discussion continued with people sharing more about their hobbies and how they can possibly turn them into a business as well. Not only did John build a successful business, but he also became an intentional employer—with over half his team members being people with disabilities. The company states that providing tours not only shows what goes on behind the scenes but also shares what is possible. John is a true example of how a person can follow their dreams while creating opportunities for others.