The North Carolina Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services is honored to name its directory of small businesses – “Shirley’s List” – in the memory of Ms. Shirley Jackson. Shirley exemplified everything that our agency looks for in someone coming to us for help starting a business – great ideas, boundless enthusiasm, and a resiliency to overcome whatever challenges they may face.
Shirley didn’t just make jewelry and sell it, she shared her love of jewelry by teaching others, and she shared her enthusiasm for the creative arts by opening an art and crafts mall in Concord where dozens of other artists could share their work. When her illness prevented Shirley from continuing to work outside the home, she transformed her business into a rich online world, teaching via Skype, selling via PayPal, and sharing her love of gems and jewelry with dozens of communities on Facebook.
Shirley won our Small Business of the Year Award in 2014, and she continued to exemplify the best in entrepreneurship, and the best in living, until her untimely passing in May of 2016. We are honored to have her passion live on in this directory of small businesses, so appropriately called “Shirley’s List.”
The purpose of this directory is to help these businesses network to a broader audience, bringing them new customers and increasing their financial strength.
Please pass the word, and do business with them when you can!
For more information on Shirley’s List & NC Vocational Rehabilitation Services’ self-employment program, please contact Craig Lawrence at or 336-487-0544