Growth on Horizon at Cardinal Cushing Centers

 HANOVER — With a few minutes until closing, 21-year-old Erick Conroy rushes with his co-workers through the Iron Kettle Inn to clear dishes from the lunch rush. Nearby, other young workers sort donations in a thrift store and work the register at a bakery.

The little-known collection of shops off Route 53 is staffed almost entirely by students with intellectual disabilities at the Cardinal Cushing Centers and serves as a training ground for many of them to enter the adult work force. For Conroy, the experience working at the Iron Kettle led to a job busing tables at Bertucci’s in Hingham.

“I like busing, but I’m working my way up to waiting,” he said confidently as he paused during his work at the Iron Kettle. READ MORE>>