Jake’s Ice Cream owner honored for her support of people with disabilities
The Pozez Jewish Community Center has honored Robin Rinearson, the owner of Jake’s Ice Cream in Barcroft Plaza, for her “outstanding efforts to create innovative and integrated job opportunities for adults with disabilities.”
Rinearson, a retired optometrist, was presented with the Eleanor Sue Finkelstein Inclusion & Disabilities Award for Service to the Disability Community at the JCC’s annual membership meeting.
When Rinearson opened Jake’s in September 2021, the goal was to offer artisanal ice cream produced and sold by adults with mental and physical disabilities.
Related story: Jake’s Ice Cream is going to be a very special place
Rinearson has already hired 10 people with disabilities to work at her second shop – Jake’s Gourmet Popcorn – set to open soon in the Seven Corners Shopping Center. Both stores are named for Rinearson’s nephew, Jake, who has cerebral palsy and works at the ice cream shop, along with some of her former patients.
“Robin is changing the lives of people with disabilities,” said Debbie Kessler, chair of the Pozez JCC award committee. “She has single-handedly created employment opportunities for adults in Northern Virginia through workforce development. She now has a staff of 30 of which 24 are differently-abled.”
“Through her outreach efforts, media appearances, and testimony to government panels in Richmond, Robin has consistently provided her expertise and experience to business and congressional leaders to encourage more employers to hire adults with disabilities,” Kessler said. “Through her vision, her determination, and her relentless energy, Robin is creating a new model for differently-abled adults to be engaged in meaningful work in the community.”
Related story: Popcorn shop to open in Seven Corners
“This award is not about me and what I am doing. This award is about my whole community,” Rinearson said. “Our motto at the shop is that you’re not just buying ice cream. You’re employing a wonderful group of differently-abled people. There isn’t anything that these young people can’t do – or can’t learn to do.”
Jake’s employee, Adam Toobin, who attended the event at the JCC, said, “I love greeting and welcoming customers because I’m a pretty social person. But being responsible for Jake’s social media has taught me all new skills. I appreciate the trust Robin has placed in me. She knows I can do it.”
21 responses to “Jake’s Ice Cream owner honored for her support of people with disabilities”
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I am not surprised at all that Robin has spearheaded and created this new company that now is expanding to help others with needs. What a wonderful way to showcase her business that these fine folks can do all kinds of things including working in Jake’s Ice Cream Shops and please stop in and show your support! I was Robin’s Office Manager until I moved out to the Chantilly area in the mid 90’s. Robin was great to work for and her parents worked there as well as 2 other Optometrists and she always had a special way with the patients that were children and that is why I’m not surprised at all that she’s doing this…because she is a pretty special person herself always giving back to her community. I moved to Virginia Beach in 2003 and haven’t seen her in ages but my son Adam sent this to me…he also work for Robin I think it was for a summer. BEST OF LUCK IN THIS WONDERFUL ENDEAVOR ROBIN YOU ARE AMAZING!!!😁
Wow! A blast from the past. What a delightful commentary. Thanx. I loved working with you. Miss you.
Love the malted shake 😋
These people are mask fascists. That’s why no one in my neighborhood goes there. I would t be surprised If there was covid booster in the ice cream.
Delighted to see Robin and the team recognized for their work! We love Jake’s Ice Cream! …and from the lines every time we go there, it looks like the neighborhood agrees. Can’t wait to try out the popcorn shop.
Concerned Citizen, you can take your hateful shit elsewhere.
GT, swearing is hateful.
Allowing people to make their own personal health decisions is loving.
It is hateful to refuse to serve people who resist complying with a public demonstration of fealty to The Establishment Message. I stand in solidarity with Concerned Citizen because my children and I were asked to leave when my asthmatic child chose to not wear a mask at the store in the Barcroft shopping center a few months ago, when time time for mandatory mask wearing was long over. A quick search of the owner demonstrates she very much values Establishment Message virtue signaling. This is why I will go yo the countless other ice cream shops. We are citizens not subjects.
The blog edited my comment because I called this creep, the so called concerned citizen exactly what she/he/it is. This time I fully agree w Dawna.
Shame on you for saying this. Go back to the hole you crawled out of.
Masks no longer required
What is the point of having comment approval if stuff like this is allowed to be posted? This is a disgusting thing to say. Please, moderate the comments!!!
Jake’s is busy just about every time I go there.
The great thing about freedom is that you don’t have to go there. You are not required to go to Jakes therefore you are not required to wear a mask. A fascist would be someone who said a place is not allowed to make its own rules.
How small of a person you must be for you to work to derail the focus on a shop that is employing people with disabilities and making this about your dislike of them protecting their employees were at highly elevated risk of severe infection and death. Especially when they now have dropped their mandate!
The owner is doing great things. I’m sorry she has to read this BS on the blog.
You’re Sick, Sick, Sick. You should volunteer for a couple of days and see how wonderful this is for people with handicap. Shame on you.
Pandering to to lowest common denominator is the left’s oldest trick in the book. You can’t discriminate against people with certain disabilities whilst publicly taking credit for those with less obvious disabilities (asthma, for example), and not get called out for it. I’m glad the ridiculous mandate has been removed. I don’t regret the post, or the replies thereafter. There was a lot of scary activity during covid – from the highest levels of government to our own neighbors and local businesses. Let’s not fault someone for speaking truth to power imho.
Hey concerned citizen, get bent.
Someone decided to use my name above I see, pretty childish but not surprising. Clearly you have an agenda with your response and the use of the “Establishment Message” a few times. I doubt your story is even true. The owner is doing great things and people like you want to hijack the discussion to talk about bullshit, just go away.
GT, 50% of the readership is not going away even if you demand strict adherence to the prescribed zeitgeist. If anyone has an agenda, it is you.
Diversity of thought is so much more important than demographic diversity as defined daily by your social, corporate, and government overlords.
Rational diversity of thought is great, conspiracy theories are not. Keep on with the “overlords” talk, let me know how that goes for you.
I’ll focus on the wonderful things the owner is doing, not stating things about her with zero evidence to show.
Sometimes the “conspiracy theorists” turn out to be 100% correct. More often that you would think. Then again, usually they are whacko nutjobs.
I’ve been the Jakes a couple times and it’s yummy and a nice place.
If by conspiracy theories, you mean that people in power plan things without telling others….. yeah that happens all the time. To deny it is naive in the highest.
Thanks for publishing local news–please keep it up despite all the weird hostility to even a nice story!