A Crew Leader on SOAR365’s Landscaping and Grounds Maintenance team at Bellwood, Jacob Hoffman shared his story and his belief that disability does not define potential at the 2025 SourceAmerica Grassroots Advocacy Conference. His message is simple and powerful: with opportunity, hard work, and determination, anything is possible.
JACOB’S SPEECH TRANSCRIBED
How’s everyone doing today? My name is Jacob Hoffman. I live in Richmond, Virginia, and I’m currently employed at SOAR 365, which I have been for the past eight years. I am a landscaper and work at the Defense Supply Center of Richmond, which is a SOAR365 contract in Bellwood, Virginia.
The disability I have is Asperger’s syndrome, which is a high-functioning form of autism, which makes it hard for me to talk to people and carry on conversations. It sometimes is a struggle, but I live my life the best I can. Just because I have a disability, I can still function like a regular person.
I have a job, I drive, and the vehicle I drive is a nice Nissan Frontier truck with a 2.5-inch leveling kit, which I bought with my hard-earned money. I also do Special Olympics as a side hobby, doing sports like soccer and basketball. This year alone, I just got promoted to Crew Leader thanks to the many years of hard work and determination.
I operate zero-turn mowers and can drive big Chevy Silverado 3500 work trucks and can drive with a trailer. I can also back up with a trailer, too. I have autism, yet here I am driving Chevy Silverados and backing up with a big, long trailer attached.
If I can do those incredible things, even though I have autism, then anything is possible. Just like how race, skin color, or being male or female doesn’t define who you are, disability does not either. Only you are standing in the way of yourself.
If you’re willing to put in the hard work and effort, anything is possible. Sure, there might be some jobs that might be too difficult and complex for people with severe mental and physical disabilities to handle, but people with high-functioning disabilities should not have to suffer because of a few out of a million. America has always been a land for greatness and opportunity for everyone.
People with disabilities deserve to live that good old American dream just like everyone else. I am somebody and we are somebody. We are human and are created in the image of God like everyone else.
As we gather this weekend for the Grassroots Conference and have our voices be heard on Capitol Hill, let’s all put our differences aside, whether you are a Democrat or Republican. This isn’t about politics, but letting our voices be heard on Capitol Hill. This is about advocating for people with disabilities to have the right to be in the workplace.
In the end, I don’t see skin color or people with disabilities. I see everyone who is human and most importantly, American. I am proud to be here at my first Grassroots Conference advocating for people with disabilities.
Before I end my speech, I just want to give a big shout out to Leroy over there, he’s in the corner. Thank you for letting me use your computer at the Zoom sessions and overall, thank you for letting me carpool with you over here to DC. Just also want to give a big shout out to Trent McFadden, who’s with my company, for giving me the opportunity to come out here and represent my company at the Grassroots Conference.
To learn more about SOAR365’s partnership with SourceAmerica and the Ability One Program, click here.
