This past year has been challenging to us all, but we have weathered the worst and come out stronger than ever as we approach the exciting opportunities ahead for us in 2021.
We started 2020 having supported an all time high of 10 program graduates in their new places of independent community employment during 2019 and with retail sales at Ramble on Pearl up almost 40% compared to 2018.
And then COVID arrived on the scene just as we were starting to put in place our plans for our program expansion as part of Boulder Housing Partners’ 30Pearl affordable housing project and our Independent Living Community. Due to the Governor’s Stay-at-Home orders, we were forced to temporarily close our doors and adjust to remote learning for our apprentices. However, we did take advantage of that time to launch an online store. Despite these efforts, retail sales dropped over 30% in 2020 – primarily due to the drop off in out-of-town visitors to Pearl Street who typically make up 40% of our annual sales. Thanks to all of you who have continued to support us during these difficult times by Shopping With Purpose!
Since then we’ve seen a lot of changes. Elsewhere, we have posted about our new executive director, but we also brought on a new leadership team to support our day to day operations as we continue to grow.
