Mitchell, 33, brings a joy to his work at Wawa that draws customers to him, writes Ronnie Polaneczky for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
He works two days a week staffing the coffee station, making specialty drinks and lending a hand where needed. For that, he gets a regular paycheck and the satisfaction of “seeing the smiles of people I serve and having them say thank you.”
Mitchell has Asperger’s syndrome — a form of autism. He is among many hundreds of special-needs adults who have found work through Wawa’s Supported Employment Program.
His boss, Ryan Schwarzman, has known Mitchell since 2012.
“John is a wonderful, hardworking associate — and he brings so much fun to the job,” said Schwarzman.
The program was started by a Wawa manager at a Princeton store in 1981. The manager created a job for a local man, Ari Shiner, who was a client of Eden Autism Services.
He wanted Ari to have a meaningful work experience and the program took off from there. Now it’s a strong part of the company’s culture.
Shiner is still on the job, as are 500 other special needs employees.
Read more about Wawa’s special needs employees here.
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