ScoopAble Ice Cream founder Amy Pennington describes her shop as more than just ice cream. The Loveland ice cream shop also employs people with disabilities.
“This venture isn’t just about ice cream — it’s about creating a ripple effect of positive change in our community,” Pennington says. “By providing real job opportunities with intellectual disabilities, we’re sparking conversations and actions that promote inclusion and appreciation for everyone’s unique abilities.”
Your involvement comes from personal experience. Tell us about your journey.
I was introduced to the disability community with the birth of my daughter, who has Down syndrome. I didn’t know it at the time, but my oldest child received a late diagnosis of Autism. Before my kids, I had very little to no contact with individuals with disabilities. After the birth of my daughter, we found ourselves immersed in a supportive disability community.
Why did you switch gears to a for-profit business?
I wanted to do two things: open a business that employs individuals with disabilities and open the non-profit, GiGi’s Playhouse, in Cincinnati. The door opened for GiGi’s first. I learned so much from the experience and the difficult journey of opening a non-profit.
After GiGi’s opened, I switched gears to open a for-profit. This idea came to life and is now known as ScoopAble Ice Cream.
What is the impact of hiring individuals with disabilities?
For the employees, they have a sense of pride in having a job. It increases their independence and confidence across all aspects of their life. Many have not had the opportunity to work a real job and to get paid. Their family members also have a new sense of joy and pride in them. Each employee brings so much value to my business. They have amazing customer service skills, attention to detail and pride in their job.
The impact on the community is significant. A lot of our customers are families with children and adults with disabilities. These families don’t have a lot of places they can go to experience someone who looks or acts like their loved ones in frontline positions where the public is interacting with them. I hope that the impact on the community demonstrates that individuals with disabilities are valuable employees, and to see that reflected in more businesses hiring them. The unemployment rate is 80% for this population.
What types of jobs do you offer, and how can individuals apply?
The two positions I have filled are Managers and Scoopers. They are all part-time positions. The jobs require them to make customer orders, handle the register and process payments, and clean. The Scoopers and Managers are often a big part of the marketing initiatives.
We are currently fully staffed with a growing waitlist for Scoopers. You can find more information about the job and fill out an application anytime on our website, www.scoopable.net
What yummy treats can we enjoy at ScoopAble Ice Cream?
We make premium ice cream in-house and offer 16 flavors at a time. Our signature flavor is banana pudding. We rotate seasonal flavors and offer gluten-free and dairy-free options. We have shakes, floats, flights, waffle cones (also made fresh in-house) and even ice cream nachos.
