BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – There are hundreds of nonprofits across the state of Florida working tirelessly each day for several different causes, hoping to make a difference in the communities they support. It's the positive message from these groups that can make a community thrive. 

One organization especially is not only benefiting individuals with special needs in the community, but bringing new business to the area as well. In this week's Feel Good Friday we check out Ave's Place at Promise in Brevard where we get to meet a few of the incredible residents who make Ave's Place thrive. 


What You Need To Know

  • Ave's Place at Promise was opened to provide affordable independent housing for individuals with cognitive and physical disabilities

  • Ave's Place Ice Cream Shop is one of the social enterprises opened by Promise in Brevard

  • Ave's Place Ice Cream Shop is open Friday through Sunday 

Putting the finishing touch on top of frozen delights is something assistant manager Aubrey Johnson does daily, but it's the co-workers she gets to craft these frozen treats with that make her job a special place. 

Johnson and her co-worker Andrea Carlson both work at Ave's Place Ice Cream Shop, one of the social enterprises that the nonprofit Promise in Brevard has opened in recent years. 

The organization itself was a place designed to provide affordable independent housing for individuals with cognitive and physical disabilities. 

Carlson, one of their residents that lives at Promise, was diagnosed at a young age with cerebral palsy, but this diagnosis never let that slow her down or change her positive attitude. 

Now living here at Promise for the past four years, she also works at Ave's Place, where she can combine her love of baking and cooking with spending time with her coworkers and serving the community here in West Melbourne. 

The organization provides affordable housing and jobs for not just Andrea, but dozens of other incredible individuals who live in Brevard County. 

Promise offering social enterprises for their residents to work at, not just their ice cream shop, but also a disability friendly salon and community thrift store. 

For Carlson and her other Promise friends and co-workers it's places like this that  stand out in the community and give people like Andrea a place to shine and share her stunning personality with the rest of our community. 

Ave's Place Ice Cream Shop is open Friday through Sunday on Fridays from 2p.m. to 7p.m. and on Saturday's and Sunday's from 11a.m. to 6p.m.

They are hoping to expand their days and hours as we enter the summer months.