With October being National Disability Employment Awareness Month, MOD Super Fast Pizza Holdings, LLC advanced its effort to foster an inclusive and diverse workplace by joining the Delivering Jobs pledge—an inclusion campaign developed by Autism Speaks, Best Buddies and Special Olympics in partnership with the Entertainment Industry Foundation. Through this commitment, MOD joins a coalition of companies who together have committed to creating one million new employment and leadership opportunities for people with autism, intellectual and developmental differences (IDD) by 2025.

Eighty-one percent of adults with intellectual and developmental differences do not have a paid job in their community. MOD has found success through building its workforce to include people with IDD, opportunity youth, and those who have been previously incarcerated. Signing the Delivering Jobs pledge reaffirms the Company’s commitment to provide opportunities and development for those with autism, intellectual and/or developmental differences, and to provide comprehensive training resources to create an inclusive support system across its 490+ restaurants system-wide. MOD currently has more than 300 Squad members with IDD and, last year, a few of them helped to create this inspiring video Our World.

“MOD exists to serve people in order to contribute to a world that works for and includes everyone. This pledge not only aligns with our mission to build an inclusive workplace and a culture of opportunity, but   hopefully will also encourage other companies across the retail and restaurant industry to do the same,” says Ally Svenson, co-founder and chief purpose officer of MOD Pizza.

Delivering Jobs is challenging all businesses to identify ways they can incorporate this untapped workforce into their diversity and inclusion plans; ensure that they have access to a minimum of 1% of employment and leadership opportunities; and empower HR personnel to invest in the long-term success of all employees.