Family Tides
On a sunny Sunday in Margate, families stream in to see Lucy the Elephant, winding up the staircase inside her leg, all the way up to her back for sweeping views of the ocean and city. On their way out, some stop for Margate Donuts or head to The Other Lucy Beach Grille for a beachside bite.
It’s here, at the base of the much-beloved landmark, where Lucy Paccione is changing lives.
Paccione, who opened The Other Lucy Beach Grille three years ago and launched Margate Donuts this summer, started the nonprofit H.O.P.E. — Helping Others Pursue Empowerment — a year after opening the grill. The organization provides real-world skills training to individuals with intellectual disabilities, helping them secure year-round employment.
On the heels of what she called an “excellent” summer season, Paccione said she couldn’t have imagined three years ago how far the program would come.
“We went from two students to 21 students with a waitlist. We are getting known,” Paccione said.
With a background in teaching at Saint Joseph’s University and currently a professor at Thomas Jefferson University, Paccione had long dreamed of creating a job training facility for individuals with special needs, combining her background with her passion for cooking to bring that vision to life.
Paccione explained she watched her cousin’s daughter, Gina, who has autism, struggle for years trying to find work.
“Gina is now 32 years of age, and, in my opinion, she is high functioning. No one has given her an opportunity,” she said, noting that if she does get an opportunity, Gina gets upset because it’s usually menial tasks.
“I just really believe there is a stigma out there still, and if people would just understand the value that my special needs population offers, it’s unbelievable. They show up on time. They don’t leave early. They show up if they don’t feel good,” she said.
For Paccione, launching the two businesses has never been about making a profit for herself but to support the H.O.P.E. organization.
“That’s the mission. If I ever close, my heart will be broken. It’s not about the grill, it’s about my students,” she said. “I just want to make enough money to sustain my H.O.P.E. organization.”
The tuition-free, six-week job training program, which wrapped up at the end of July, gave students of all ability levels a chance to learn a variety of skills, splitting their time between the grill and the Lucy the Elephant gift shop.
“Students are transformed. It’s amazing how many skill sets they establish by the end of the program,” Paccione said.
Students practice culinary skills like cooking on the grill, making donuts and prepping food. They also develop customer service skills, learn inventory control, fold T-shirts and work on upselling techniques, among other skills.
“They learn a whole gamut of skills that are transferable. So, what we’re looking for is what is their processing ability? Are they able to take these skills elsewhere?” Paccione said.
Some students graduate and move on to other jobs successfully. One of Paccione’s first hires, Drew Scheffey, who has autism, landed a position at Wawa — a job he had wanted for years but had struggled to secure. His opportunity came thanks to coverage from 6abc Action News on The Other Lucy Beach Grille.
Some students stay on with Paccione, noting that Margate Donuts plans to “only hire individuals with disabilities eventually,” with applicants needing to go through the H.O.P.E. program.
“John Rocco is my vocational trainer, so he’s the one who trains our individuals with disabilities, and he assesses them and sees who can come back and who needs additional skills before they can even work. Margate Donuts is not really part of my mission — it’s because I missed my students, and I created that. Our mission is to train and send students and get them placed in full-time jobs all year round or meet their needs,” Paccione said. “They’re all eventually starting to get placed in jobs, and they’re thriving.”
Rocco, who assesses students after the program for Margate Donuts and has a 20-year background in special education, joined H.O.P.E. this summer and said he thinks a program like it is “needed in every community.”
“I’ll work with the kids at the farmers market and at [Margate Donuts] as well as in the grill, and I’ll coach them as they go,” he said, noting he supports them during customer service interactions.
“They just had the graduation last week, and Lucy’s been sending them to me in the morning at the donut cart, and I do an assessment, like all their skills, quality of work, response to feedback, social communication skills,” he said.
Some graduates discover they prefer careers outside food service, and Paccione works to connect them with positions that fit both their skills and passions.
“When we train our students, we also discover hidden talents that we didn’t even know they had. So sometimes we can capitalize on that and help them find jobs in the areas they really, really like,” she said.
Paccione hopes to grow H.O.P.E. into something much larger.
“We need a building. We would love to do full-time training. We’re waiting for that big donor out there who can get us started,” she said.
Paccione invites others to come see her students’ and workers’ hard work in action.
“Come in and enjoy the wait, and get to know my students,” she said.
For hours of operation or to donate to H.O.P.E., visit otherlucy.com.
Madison Russ is an award-winning journalist, copy editor and adjunct professor of communication based in Atlantic County. An Ocean City native, Madison is passionate about telling stories that matter to locals, often spotlighting nonprofits and exploring the area’s vibrant arts scene.
