Welcome to The Sunshine Stop, a nonprofit—based in Excelsior, MN—dedicated to empowering people with disabilities through meaningful employment.

Scroll down to find out more!

The Sunshine Stop, a MN non-profit corporation, is a fully registered 501(c)(3) public charity. Any donation is fully tax deductible. Tax ID#99-3242916.

Shine Bright!

Our Mission

The Sunshine Stop creates meaningful, paid employment opportunities in a small shop environment, for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We provide our employees—The Sunshine Squad—with hands-on job training in vital skills such as money and time management, problem solving and communication. This fosters independence, builds self-esteem and encourages opportunity—enriching the lives of our employees, those around them and the community as a whole.

We offer part-time summer employment while partnering with local businesses in a true nonprofit model.

LEARN MORE

Are you the parent or guardian of a candidate who would like to join The Sunshine Squad? Please complete the application below and press send. If you have questions, please reach out via our Contact Page and select Employment in the checkbox. We will get back to you as soon as possible. Potential employees for the upcoming 2025 Summer Season will attend the All-Call Employee Orientation in May or reach out to us directly. To stay up to date, keep an eye out for details on our Events Page, and/or sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of this page.

Become An Employee

APPLICATION

Employee Spotlight

We would like to introduce you to Joe P.

Joe brings laughter, positivity, and a whole lot of personality to The Sunshine Stop! Now entering his second summer with the team, Joe loves spending time with his friends and coworkers and says one of the best parts about working at Sunshine Stop is “seeing my friends!”

Outside of work, Joe stays busy with his church youth group, reading, word games, dot-to-dots, and exploring libraries and bookstores. He’s also known for his impressive geography skills and his love of classic cartoons and Disney Pixar movies.

Joe is definitely the team jokester — he loves telling jokes and making people laugh! His favorite saying?
“OH YEAH! (Like the Kool-Aid Man)”

Joe says having a job makes him feel proud, and he enjoys helping organize products and displays for customers. He’s learned that having a job can be fun, especially when you get to work alongside amazing volunteers and friends.

At The Sunshine Stop, Joe shines bright by bringing joy, humor, and kindness to everyone around him — and we are so lucky to have him on our team!

Giving

We are incredibly grateful for the kindness, encouragement, and support our community has shown The Sunshine Stop since our very first season. As we continue growing into our 2026 Summer Season, we are excited to expand our impact through new opportunities, events, programs, and our new storefront space. Your support helps us continue creating meaningful opportunities, building community connections, and spreading sunshine wherever we can. Here are some ways to give:
• Make a Donation
• Become a Sunshine Sponsor
• Become a Partner • Attend Our Events
• Volunteer • Shop our Online Store
• Spread the Word

How Your Donation
Makes an Impact

Your donation helps us to fund critical operations and infrastructure that allows us to bring our product to market. It helps to pay our employees a fair wage. But most importantly, your donation makes it possible for us to provide joy and a purposeful experience for our employees, our volunteers and the community at large.

GIVE