This month, nonprofit Wonderfully Made will move across the street to its new permanent bakery and activity rooms from its temporary space at the Peachtree Church campus in Buckhead. Founded by Kitty Correll, Kelly Kannwischer, and Betsy Brown, the organization strives to cultivate community for adults with intellectual disabilities – including making and selling cookies.
“Peachtree Church has been abundantly gracious,” Correll said. “And we raised funds to renovate the old coffee shop on the main floor of their building, previously called the Lodge, for our new bakery.”
At the new location, Wonderfully Made plans to increase the number of participants, called Wonder Makers, from just six to two cohorts of 12 that meet two days a week.
“There are adults with intellectual disabilities who have beautiful gifts and talents to share,” Kannwischer said. “And there are ways to build relationships and support them so they can live full lives.”
That is the promise of Wonderfully Made, to address loneliness and isolation that hit adults with intellectual disabilities exceptionally hard with well-rounded programming. Activities include music, sports and art in the morning and fulfilling cookie orders in the afternoon.
“I have a nephew with Down syndrome,” Correll said. “I watched him graduate high school and get lost not knowing what was next.”
That’s why Correll gathered friends experiencing the same dilemma to develop a solution that went beyond employment.
“If they have a job … they go to their job and go home,” said John Griner, parent of Wonder Maker, Lele. “These young adults want to be with other young adults.”
“We found that what they were missing was community and a purpose,” Correll said.
That’s what the co-founders set out to create – spending nearly two years baking in Correll’s kitchen alongside some future Wonder Makers, talking with parents, meeting with other Atlanta leaders, and securing space with Peachtree Church – before launching Wonderfully Made in September 2024.
Griner encouraged the co-founders to include exercise. They were receptive.
“On Tuesdays, we do basketball for 45 minutes,” said Griner, who leads that activity. “They have other volunteers come in to do a physical activity like pickleball or hip hop dance.
The Wonder Makers are thriving.
“One of our adults, Johnny, basically started nonverbal and would watch from the side,” Kannwischer said. ”I can safely say our challenge now is to get him to stop talking and let others have a chance. It’s been fun watching him come alive and find a place and feel safe here.”
“Lele loves it,” Griner said. “It’s like having six brothers or sisters, with more to join. It’s a godsend.”
Community is also found by volunteers “who come to laugh with us, teach an activity, and bake with us,” Correll said.
“You go to volunteer but you walk away with your heart full of joy, because they are so happy,” said Suzanne Howard who volunteers every Tuesday. “ I’m 53 years old, how many times am I going to play kickball? It’s been life-changing for me. I plan my week around it .”
Howard also provides an extra pair of hands as the Wonder Makers prepare and package chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.
“Today, I was with Teon,” Howard shared. “I held the bag open as he put in one cookie per bag. We did like 300 cookies. When he finished a tray – he threw away the parchment paper, put away the used pan, and picked up the next tray. They love having a job.”
Another way to help Wonderfully Made is to buy the cookies they bake.
And as they grow, they are eager to connect with other churches, community centers or other organizations that have empty rooms during the school day to accommodate programming for adults with intellectual disabilities.
“One of our goals for 2025 is to codify what we’ve learned, make it accessible for anyone who would like to start their own Wonderfully Made community and be a resource for them,” said Kannwischer.
Visit wonderfullymadecommunity.org to order cookies, volunteer, donate or enroll. Tuition financial assistance is available for those in need.
