Back in October of 2018, Andy Conway met with a group of his friends from several churches in Kodiak, Alaska, to share his dream. This dream was to create a Christian ministry that reached out to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to create a community of love and support for them and their families.
Conway had moved to Kodiak with the United States Coast Guard and, after finishing his tour, chose to remain in Kodiak as a civilian. He worked as a substitute teacher in Kodiak Island Borough School District, then accepted a long-term substitute position in the high school special needs class. During his time in this classroom, Conway discovered a joy and a passion for working with people with special needs. He loved teaching both academics and life skills, and he loved his students very much. He learned how to recognize and meet their needs, but at the same time, he learned how to recognize their unique talents and abilities. He wanted to help them find ways to use and showcase those abilities in their homes and in their community.
As Conway shared his dream with his friends, they quickly caught his vision and started to make plans. They started small, inviting a group of teenagers with special needs to Berean Baptist Church in Kodiak one night each week, sharing dinner with them and teaching them Bible stories. They recruited volunteers from local churches and youth groups and trained them on how to serve people with special needs. The program grew from there, and it was called Special Friends.
In the summer of 2020, Conway traveled around the country to share his dream with other churches, and many of these churches pledged financial support to meet the expenses of this ministry. Today, this ministry has continued to grow and has extended its age range from 12 years old and up. It includes weekly meetings for both youth and adults with special needs, as well as an annual camp experience at a local Christian camp facility.
As Special Friends continued to expand its ministry in Kodiak, volunteers noticed another need in the community. When people with special needs graduate high school at age 18 or age out of the Life Skills program at age 22, it is hard for them to find daily activities that bring meaning to their lives. This can lead to challenges at home, for caregivers and family members as well as the individuals themselves, and can lead to isolation from their community and a lack of purpose.
In February of 2022, Conway was inspired with the idea of creating a business that specifically hires people with special needs. He wanted to create jobs that would provide meaningful employment, teach them some new skills, and help them discover their natural talents and abilities. He came up with the idea of a resale store.
Conway immediately started putting together a board of directors comprised of people he knew from local churches who had business skills and experience and who had always been supportive of Special Friends. In March of 2022, he met with all of them together and explained his idea for a resale store that hired differently abled people to help meet this need in Kodiak. The group was excited to begin the process. The business was named Special Finds to be recognized as a branch of the Special Friends Ministry. The prayer of Conway and the rest of the board is that this business would be a blessing to the special needs community as well as the entire community of Kodiak.