Meet Mary Ann LaRoche | Founder and Executive Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mary Ann LaRoche and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mary Ann, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Imagine a place that focuses purely on mindfulness, creativity, exploration, and community,- a place that breaks down barriers, is supportive to try, fail, be successful, and repeat, every time you enter the building. Imagine a place that is designed solely for the purpose of helping others navigate through anxieties, lack of communication skills, and difficulties processing information. Imagine that same space as a place that unifies those who struggle when on their own, now having a team together in a maker’s space while also getting life, social and vocational skills. Then you imagined exactly what a Phoenix based nonprofit called SEEDs for Autism is all about.

SEEDs for Autism as a program itself, helps the world and community one person at a time. The program is an organic space completely devoted to supporting and mentoring those impacted by autism. Every day the staff and volunteers work together to find diverse ways to teach, show, practice, model, and allow the participants who attend a way to experience life, problem-solve, and experience daily victories. It is a very interactive and genuine space encouraging everyone to gain real opportunities to work together by doing meaningful tasks in real time. For example: participants have access to all of these skills: woodworking, sewing, weaving, graphic design, welding, blacksmithing, culinary, gardening, podcasts, video creating, resume writing, interviewing, job development, customer services, creative writing, jewelry making, screen printing, distribution and shipping, research development, merchandising, packaging and so much more. Everyone works alongside each other to gain valuable and purposeful training.
This creative and innovative space helps impact the world by giving the community the opportunity to see what someone can do when they are given the chance to try, and for as many times as that one person may need. It is a fantastic example of what a community can do together, and allows for lasting impressions from a different point of view. A point of view that typically is met with what someone “can’t do”.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My journey like so many others who take a leap of faith has been filled with many obstacles, vocational variety, setbacks, growth, and is always inspired by being open-minded. I am sure anyone who starts something from nothing has a great story behind how they got to the starting line. Self-doubt is such a tremendous roadblock to sabotaging dreams and goals. It really takes having not only the dream but the drive to continue no matter what obstacles and problems you encounter, because everyday there are a bucket load of them. Before I founded SEEDs, my journey also led me to accept that I wanted to be an artist and make a living at it. That is such a difficult choice to just believe in yourself and the skills you have gained while knowing you are never at your peak for excellence. For myself, as an artist I have always wanted to learn more, apply the knowledge, and layer more skills onto everything I created. Curiosity has been my prosperity, while self-doubt in myself was the barrier. You absolutely need both to take the chances that sometimes lead to failure, but knowing that failure is ok, it isn’t personal, it is just a part of growing and building tenacity. Having the right people on your team or by your side also is IMPERATIVE! If you surround yourself with naysayers, you don’t have much of a chance to break away. You must have a cheerleader (my husband Randy) to say, go ahead, try it, and how can I help you achieve your dreams and goals. It isn’t just about making something either, it’s about all the other aspects you must have like discipline, financial literacy, business sense, and thick skin.
I started my artistic business journey being a female blacksmith and that took a lot of energy and skills. The confidence I gained from working with contractors, designers, and other blacksmiths instilled pride and drive to keep learning and creating. My business took off strictly by word of mouth, so personal skills in how to communicate and meet deadlines also became genuine references for repeated business and new clients. Today, I have left the world of making gates, and one-of-a-kind home furnishings, but have the privilege to share my journey in a way that is still creative, by creating an environment for others to grow and become more secure in themselves. Today, SEEDs for Autism has allowed my training to not just create a diverse and unique program (that is a HUGE undertaking in itself) but it has helped open up a beautiful Thrift and Gift store called SEEDs Garden of Treasures for job training that is also for the community to shop. That is my greatest achievement, to have surrounded myself with like-minded people who want to give to others the job training and confidence to learn and be wildly successful. I want to personally invite everyone out there to come and visit the SEEDs Garden of Treasures to find quality bargains and treasures while and support the participants training. It is located at 3420 S. 7th Street, Phoenix AZ 85040. Hours of operation are currently M-S 10:00 to 3:00.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
When people come to town and I want to show them a good time, it really depends on the time of year they visit. If it is in March, obviously we have to go to some Spring Training games, but good weather days would also be The Phoenix Zoo or the Wildlife World Zoo . I think anytime of the year allows itself to go to the (MIM), Musical Instrument Museum, and the Arizona Boardwalk for any of the attractions there. Best two favorite places to eat are China Chilli and The Parlor.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My brother Paul Foti was absolutely my inspiration to help shape me into a person who wanted to make a difference for him and others like him. Paul was diagnosed in 1972 with autism. At that time, there wasn’t information like there is today about what the journey would be like, what resources to find, and few families going through the same path to connect with. Paul’s innocence, struggles, and inability to communicate his needs, likes, dreams, well that just made me want to be his voice and to do whatever I could to help the world see how amazing he could be. The journey more times than I could count were met with uneducated people who didn’t take time to understand why he might be screaming, why he might be laughing to himself, or why he did things awkwardly, after all he didn’t show any physical signs of a disability. It was our mother who helped make sure we remained tight even with such trials and sibling differences. SEEDs for Autism is dedicated to helping everyone see through a different lens.

Website: https://www.seedsforautism.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seed_for_autism

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SEEDSforAutism/

Youtube: https://.youtube.com/@seedsforautism

Image Credits
none