The Games are celebrating more than athletic excellence; we are shining a spotlight on inclusive commerce.
At the Special Olympics USA Games, we are celebrating more than just athletic excellence; we are shining a spotlight on inclusive commerce. A cornerstone of the Thrivent Fan Fest, sponsored by Thrivent Financial, is found at the ID Makers Market, in the Maroon Lot outside Huntington Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis.
This curated pop-up experience is organized in partnership with Mich’s Markets, founded by Minnesota-born brands expert Mich Berthiaume. Serving as a permanent legacy initiative, the marketplace is designed to champion economic empowerment and visibility for entrepreneurs within the intellectual disabilities (ID) community.
Sharing Gifts to Empower Capabilities
Ty Bricker co-founded the non-profit The Sunshine Stop in the summer of 2024, starting as an Excelsior, Minnesota, farmer’s market pop-up with 15 employees, which has expanded into a year-round operation boasting 46 employees and now has a brick-and-mortar storefront that celebrated its grand opening just days before the Games began.
The organization stands out for its steadfast commitment to inclusive employment, hiring individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Every employee starts at a salary of minimum wage plus one dollar, and every year thereafter, they get a wage increase. To ensure a supportive workspace, the shop utilizes custom visual aids featuring both words and pictures to assist workers in making products like custom tumblers, coffee mugs, and tumblers.
The Sunshine Stop may be best known for its fresh lemonade concentrate, which is being sold freshly made at their ID Makers Market booth.
Bricker said they were honored to be asked to participate in the Market, and these Games hold another special meaning for them as Sunshine Stop employee Ava Muench is actively competing in the Games as a swimmer for Team Minnesota!
Empowering Youth to Share Kindness
One featured vendor, A Kindness Co., is a business born after the tragic loss of co-founders Nicole and Thomas McNulty’s 15-year-old son, Michael, in a 2021 accident on Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota.
The business produces hand-poured soy candles and apparel featuring uplifting messages, with products incorporating a butterfly logo to symbolize how one small act of kindness can trigger a positive chain reaction.
Proceeds fund their nonprofit, Michael’s Light, which has partnered with the Be Like Tommy Project to create TM Original Me, an organization that runs middle school mental health programs.
This fully funded social-emotional curriculum pays school staff and provides supplies for students to learn about and practice empathy through projects like sidewalk chalk murals and teacher appreciation events. The weekly program currently operates in four regional middle schools, expanding this school year to double its reach across four more schools in the Twin Cities and western Wisconsin.
Though not an ID vendor, organizers invited A Kindness Co. due to their highly inclusive mission and message: “Because a kinder world. Is a brighter world. Pass it on.”
The market has already sparked a beautiful community connection with The Sunshine Stop, which will be carrying fellow maker A Kindness Co.’s candles in their Excelsior store.
Meet More Makers
In addition to The Sunshine Stop and A Kindness Co., these handpicked independent businesses are featured at the ID Makers Market:
The Highland Friendship Club offers friendship bracelets, stationery, gift cards, and copies of “Do What’s Right,” a children’s book written by Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Mauer and former KSTP-TV sports director Joe Schmidt.
High 5 Heights is offering customized gear at an interactive site where customers can buy products and watch while appliques with uplifting messages are applied.
Fresh Eye Arts features original, artist-designed prints, artwork, notebooks, tote bags, stickers, textiles, and mosaics.
Matthew & Co. is selling handcrafted goat milk soap.
Every dollar spent at the marketplace goes directly back to the makers, a design intended to fuel inclusive entrepreneurship and community growth. The ID Makers Market, as a part of the Thrivent Fan Fest, is free and open to the public. Hours through Thursday are 11:00 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Friday, June 26, from 11:00 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Stop by the ID Makers Market to support these incredible makers and take a piece of the Games home to remember forever!