Bubbles and Blooms, a nonprofit Jon founded this spring, operates a flower stand Friday through Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. at Sam’s Chowder House, which donates the space. The business employs about a dozen developmentally disabled adults, who help prepare flowers, tend the stand and, most importantly, interact with customers. “I see this as a place for our associates to make a start in their employment,” Jon said. “The aim is to give them opportunity and equip them to go beyond.”
Jon has three expectations of each associate: 1) Do your best; 2) Never give up; 3) Have fun. “Everybody is important. Everyone is valuable. And God has blessed each person with a gift to share,” Jon explains. “We offer an opportunity for our associates to express those gifts.”
Among the ways God prepared Jon for his Coastside mission:
- His son was born with developmental disabilities, which nurtured Jon’s heart and skills for working with this special community. He also volunteers as a Special Olympics coach.
- A psychology major in college, family ties drew Jon to the largest wholesale flower distributors in the Los Angeles region, where for nearly 20 years he managed the business.
- When the flower business closed, Jon, the son of a pastor, pursued clinical pastoral studies that led to ministry as a hospice chaplain.
- When a position as a church youth director did not work out, an opportunity to work as a human resources director for a local nursery brought him from Orange County to the Coastside.
- He gained nonprofit experience with Community Gatepath and Big Wave Group, which both serve youth and adults with special needs in the Bay Area.
Does his background seem like a perfect fit for the Bubbles and Blooms ministry? Jon, whose motto is “Bring Beauty to Life,” says it’s no accident: “That’s the nature of God’s love. He pursues us. He doesn’t give up.”
