Inclusivity in the aisles at Vashon Thriftway

Published 10:30 am Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Doug Hershey is greeted by name several times as he methodically makes his way through Vashon Thriftway’s aisles, shifting products forward on each shelf to ensure they’re displayed properly.

His job coach, Ploy Chaleoy, watches closely from a few feet away. She is there to point out if a detergent bottle or cereal box goes unadjusted, but mostly allows him to do his work. Chaleoy has been coaching Hershey for the last year and a half.

“He’s very detail-oriented and hard-working,” she said.

Hershey, like two other members of Vashon Thriftway’s staff, partners with coaches at AtWork, a Washington-based nonprofit agency that provides a bridge to employment for people with developmental disabilities.

Thriftway has collaborated with AtWork since August 2022, according to HR manager Cliff Silkett. Before partnering with AtWork, Thriftway hired people with disabilities on a case-by-case basis.

Hershey was hired in July 2021 under the supervision of a caretaker.

Clay Gleb, Thriftway’s owner, emphasized the value of the partnership. “It’s important to us that, as a leader in the community, we take the time to give those people that opportunity that maybe they wouldn’t be able to get somewhere else,” he said.

Gleb credits the flexibility that comes from having a large staff — Thriftway employs up to 150 people during its peak season — for the store’s ability to provide jobs through AtWork.

“We’re uniquely positioned, because of our size, to be able to offer that, whereas maybe some other businesses on Vashon probably couldn’t manage [it],” Gleb said.

Two AtWork coaches work on Vashon. They collectively support eight clients on the island, three of whom work at Thriftway. Coach duties are start-to-finish and include everything from resume-building to professionalism on the job, Chaleoy said.

Thriftway’s three AtWork employees each spend four to eight hours on shift each week, according to Silkett and are paid by Thriftway.

Coaches work together with Thriftway’s team to find assignments that fit the particular abilities of their clients.

“They all have different skill sets,” Gleb said. “We had to get them in the door and see what their skill sets were, what their independence was, and then fit jobs within our organization that were things they could accomplish.”

For one employee, that means stocking a particular part of the store, which other workers know to leave untouched. “He is responsible for going and stocking those things, so he has a set routine,” Gleb said. “He knows where to go, he knows who to talk to. He just comes in and does it, [and] does a great job.”

Hershey’s favorite task is crushing empty liquor boxes. His other responsibilities include go-backs — reshelving items patrons decide not to buy at checkout — and facing, the process of rearranging products so that they’re displayed neatly to customers.

Brette Flora, another AtWork employee at Thriftway, loves helping people find items in the store, according to her mother Shannon Flora.

“It’s hard to get her to keep from helping people with their shopping,” she said, adding that Brette’s help brings joy to customers. “They enjoy seeing her.”

AtWork employees work closely with their job coaches when they’re on the clock — at least at first. “[Some coaches] do a little bit of backing off, too, so they can learn a little bit of independence, do some of it on their own,” Silkett said.

Flora said that her daughter often works independently of AtWork coaches, and doesn’t require as much hands-on support. Sometimes, her coach will even leave early or arrive late to give Brette more time on her own.

Although the coaches serve as liaisons between their clients and employers, the store’s team still has ample opportunity to interact with AtWork employees.

“We get to help coach them and mentor them and give them direction and make them feel part of a team that they don’t necessarily have the ability to in other parts of their life,” Gleb said.

Working at Thriftway has certainly had a positive impact on Hershey, according to Brigitte Webb, Hershey’s caregiver. “Being included in this community has just been so good for him and been so rewarding in so many ways,” Webb said.

His sister, Blythe Deines, also noted his soaring spirits after work, which she credits to the other employees.

“They quickly learned Doug’s love language is teasing and they make him laugh and smile every day he works,” she said in an email. “Often Doug will talk about his coworkers teasing him for days afterwards.”

Hershey was born with a rare genetic disease called Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome, which often results in moderate to severe intellectual disability. He holds two volunteer positions on Vashon aside from his job at Thriftway, and is also known for his flower delivery service. Learn more at tinyurl.com/3za78a42.

One employee in particular, Dave Miller, has gone above and beyond to make Doug feel welcome. Each time payday rolls around, Doug picks out a donut — he loves the maple bar with sprinkles — from the Thriftway case, which is then kept at the store’s customer service desk until the end of his shift.

One day, Doug came back to find an unexpected addition to his donut bag.

“Dave Miller started decorating Doug’s donut bags with some of his favorite things,” Deines said in an email. “And by decorate I mean decorate.”

The embellished brown paper bags, now displayed in Hershey’s home, are covered in detailed illustrations of cartoon characters. They brightly declare who and what the bag is for: “Doug’s Donut!” Depictions of Elmo frequently appear on the bags, as do many other of Hershey’s favorite Sesame Street characters.

“It is so lovely to have an employer like Thriftway on Vashon who encourages such inclusion and teamwork amongst its staff,” Deines said.

Working with AtWork employees also provides a rewarding change for the Thriftway team, according to Gleb.

“Being able to slow down and be particular in how we’re communicating with those folks and how we’re directing them, gives the people on our team that interact with them a really nice break,” Gleb said.

These interactions aren’t just pleasant, they’re also an important reminder, Gleb said. “It doesn’t have to always be 100% about production. This is a people business, whether that’s customers [or] people on our team,” he said.

Hershey’s joy is infectious and reciprocal, Silkett said.

“Selfishly, I just love interacting with Doug,” Silkett said, laughing. “I always have a great time with Doug. He just makes me feel good, and I think he does that for everybody else.”

He continued, “The inclusivity of all of our employees and the island itself just feels like Vashon. It’s a reflection of our community.”

Tess Halpern is a contributing journalist for The Beachcomber.