What a sweet heat!
What a Sweet Heat!
Hot peppers, seasonal fruit, and a whole lot of love
Aromas of spicy peppers mixed with sweet fruit create a summer perfume that is impossible to resist. It is cooking day at Sweet Heat Jam Co. in Katy, Texas, and the mood is joyous yet focused.
Tucked inside the commercial kitchen at Grand Lakes Presbyterian Church, 25–year-old Nolan Stilwell and team are bustling about making jams from scratch using seasonal ingredients and a whole lot of pride. Fredericksburg peaches are chopped at one counter. Habanero and jalapeño peppers are finely minced at another. They all end up together as gorgeous golden lava bubbling in an authentic jam pan on the stove.
When the timer goes off, the boiling mixture is carefully poured into waiting 9-ounce sterilized jars. Soon the jars will get labels that say: Peach Heat, one of 12 Sweet Heat varieties that are as addictive as they are versatile.
The sweetest part of Nolan’s business is not the fruit or the sugar but the resilience, collaboration and resulting success that are shared by all those in the kitchen. Nolan and his friends have Down syndrome, a condition characterized by cognitive disability that can make it difficult to gain traditional employment after high school. Since November 2011, Sweet Heat Jam Co. has worked to alleviate this challenge.
Through a structured and supervised program led by Nolan’s parents, Christine and Randy, and supported by local educators, mentors and additional volunteers, the company provides a means to empower and enrich lives in the community through positive action and scrumptious jam.
“Opportunities are limited to high school graduates with Down syndrome or other developmental, physical or intellectual disabilities,” says Christine. “Many will stay home, and parents are faced with the task of finding new opportunities that will help keep their child engaged and actively involved in life. Sweet Heat Jam Co. was founded from the passion and desire to provide meaningful, productive and rewarding jobs to high school graduates with special needs.”
