We were lucky to catch up with Tracy Jackson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Tracy, thanks for joining us today. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?

At Edgar’s Bath Goods, I get to work with participants in Goodwill’s S.T.A.R.S. program, which stands for skills training achieves results. It’s a unique day-habilitation program for adults with significant disabilities. The program recreates daily living scenarios to give participants a chance to learn real-life skills to overcome their disadvantages and achieve maximum independence. Through S.T.A.R.S., participants are also able to receive prevocational training. One such individual is Mae Smith, and few people express as much love and gratitude as she does.

Mae was diagnosed with failure to thrive at birth, which causes slow physical development and puts individuals at risk for behavioral problems and developmental delays. When Mae first came to Goodwill, she was very reserved and often had difficulty participating in classroom activities. With help from instructors, she gained confidence and established friendships.
Mae first gained job skills at a Goodwill store where her bright personality made her a favorite among retail staff. She later received a part-time job with Edgar’s Bath Goods, where today she handmakes luxury bath bombs with other adults with disabilities.

Outside of work, Mae lives with her mother Darlene and brother Jeremy, who has cerebral palsy. Mae is very close with her family and assists her mom with Jeremy at home. “He can’t walk or talk, but I understand him,” said Mae describing the two’s relationship. Darlene heard about S.T.A.R.S. from a caseworker and enrolled her in the program soon after. “I’m thankful for Goodwill because they opened doors for my daughter Mae, and she’s still thriving. She’s still doing better every day.”

To see her story in video form, click here: https://goodwillnorthcentraltexas.org/mae-smith/

Tracy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Edgar’s Bath Goods provides a line of luxury bath bombs, handmade by adults with disabilities in Fort Worth, Texas.

Available online at www.EdgarsBathGoods.com and in-person at the GW Boutique in Keller and other area boutiques, these bath bombs are offered in eight original scents – Lavender Fields, Yellow Rose of Texas, Bluebonnet, Fig Mint, Prairie Sunset, Dewberry, Country Rose and Edgar’s Signature. The products are all chemical, paraben, alcohol, mineral oil and sulfate free and have not been tested on animals.

A division of Goodwill North Central Texas, all proceeds from Edgar’s Bath Goods go to support the nonprofit’s mission of providing jobs and job training for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment such as homelessness, lack of education or work experience, criminal backgrounds and more.

“Our mission through Edgar’s Bath Goods is to provide an opportunity for adults with disabilities to achieve their maximum independence through the power of work,” said David Cox, President and CEO of Goodwill North Central Texas. “These luxurious bath bombs are handmade with love by these local citizens who possess unique abilities and a keen passion for work.”

Edgar’s Bath Goods launched with the vision of a new business line that would not only generate revenue to support the mission of Goodwill North Central Texas, but provide a safe, fun and fulfilling place for adults with disabilities to earn a paycheck. Many of the adults with mental disabilities employed by Goodwill thrive in an environment where they can create products by hand. Repetitive tasks that can be broken down, step-by-step, are ideal for our team members. They take great pride in doing a good job and are very detail-oriented. Bath bombs are a fun product that can be manufactured by these team members, by hand, with love. An internal team of Goodwill leadership developed the bath bomb recipe and process before transitioning the manufacturing of the product to our team members with disabilities.
Edgar’s Bath Goods plans to expand into additional bricks and mortar retail locations and wholesale opportunities are available. Learn more, or order online, at www.EdgarsBathGoods.com.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start?

Many people don’t realize that Goodwill is more than a thirft store. Goodwill North Central Texas is based in Fort Worth and serves 18 counties in the region. The nonprofit’s 27 area retail locations provide revenue through the sale of donated goods to support Goodwill’s mission to CREATE lives of independence and BUILD a stronger local community. Edgar’s Bath Goods initial capital came from the sale of items in our retail stores.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

COVID-19 hit soon after launch of the Edgar’s Bath Goods website which slowed our progress of expanding the line and into additional boutique locations. Also, establishing a structure for our production team to learn the process is essential. As adults with disabilities, structure and consistency are the key to success, and that isn’t always easy to find in a startup company.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.EdgarsBathGoods.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/EdgarsBathGoods
• Facebook: facebook.com/EdgarsBathGoods
• Linkedin: n/a
• Twitter: twitter.com/EdgarsBathGoods
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsrvA8xt3Wn0cw0BYMdb1EA
• Yelp: n/a

Image Credits
Justan Martinez, Amber Shumake