The holidays are a busy time of the year for the YAI National Institute for People with Disabilities General Store. So, in this its third Christmas, the 16 employees who last Thursday were minding the 700 square feet of the Westbury warehouse that is headquarters for their global operation, were busy at work packaging their baskets to the holiday tunes of their radio.

Workplaces, at their best, are friendly as well as productive and the General Store meets said criteria by establishing a comfortable work environment that produces popular gift items. The General Store is different, if not better, however, in that as well as providing the product it also provides opportunity.

"It was an effort to create a business for the developmentally disabled who had been laid off from work," said Michael Kramer, director of YAI's Department of Employment Initiatives.

Disabled workers have felt the effects of corporate downsizing over the last few years, explained Kramer. The General Store was founded as a not-for-profit alternative to provide job opportunities for enthusiastic workers who needed a place to work.

Though YAI services stretch throughout Long Island and around the world, the General Store is the only one of its kind. "It is a unique entity unto itself," said General Manager Joan Leinwand.

Having zero government funding, the General Store exists only on the money it makes through the sale of its gift baskets and operates just as a typical business.

Market analysis chooses what products will be made and the work hours are Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., though longer hours can be expected during the holidays, the busiest and most financially rewarding time for the General Store.

The entire operation is designed to facilitate an easily accessible working process for their employees, but noted Kramer, so too do companies like McDonald's make the jobs easier for their employees.

There is a dual purpose for the catalogs which as well as showing the customers the merchandise, are utilized by the workers as reference material in the production of the baskets. The pictures and the simple codes used in the catalogs help the employees in their preparations of the baskets.

In preparing the workers, Leinwand relies primarily on instinct and the lessons she has learned in her 20 years in YAI.

"It just happens. There are skills that I had and skills that I learned through trips and seminars," said Leinwand, "Some of the stuff just comes naturally."

Employees are placed in certain jobs to take advantage of their strengths, though the workers pitch in on all aspects from cellophaning to shrink wrapping to sweeping the floors.

Where the General Store differs from all other businesses is the intrinsic value of the particular and special relationship between business and client.

"The company that sends out our gifts makes a statement that they are socially conscious," said Kramer.

Through its social conscious the General Store provides a stable work environment and gives the developmentally disabled an atmosphere where they can work at their own pace and learn new skills.

"What is special is that the individuals that do work here, once they have learned a skill they can work independently," said Leinwand.

"I like it a lot here," said 25-year-old employee Jessica Campbell a Williston Park resident, "I have pride in the work I do here. There are a lot of people here to help me. It's a warm working environment."

Campbell laments the days she spent at home out of a job. She much prefers spending her time in the company of her General Store friends wrapping gift baskets.

Sharing a love for the job is Floral Park resident and employee Jennifer Scagliano. She said, "It's a fun job. I like the people who work here. They are very nice and helpful."

The gifts produced by the hands of these gifted workers have reached all over the United States and as far away as Israel, Ireland, Canada and even servicemen in Bosnia. However, even farther reaching is the special opportunity created every time one uses the General Store.

To order from the YAI General Store and in turn create jobs for the hard working developmentally disabled (the more the General Store sells the more jobs are created) call 1-800-YAI-9914.