OUR MISSION

Every person has a gift.
Our job is to help them give it.
We believe that every student who comes to us carries within them something the world needs — a capability, a strength, a way of seeing or doing that is entirely their own. Our mission at Fireside Unlimited is to see that gift, help each student see it in themselves, and prepare them to bring it into the world through meaningful, lasting employment.

Work is more than income. It is identity. It is contribution. It is the experience of waking up knowing you have something to offer and somewhere to offer it. When a student secures and sustains employment, they gain not only financial independence — they gain dignity, purpose, and a place in the story of their community.

To prepare every student to give the gift that is within them — through employment, independence, and a life of contribution.
 
 
OUR HISTORY

Built on belief,
refined through decades.
Fireside Unlimited was founded in the Dallas–Fort Worth area with a straightforward conviction: that individuals with disabilities are not defined by what they cannot do, but by what they have yet to be supported to do. From the beginning, the work has been intensely personal — one student, one plan, one breakthrough at a time.

Over the years, that conviction grew into a full suite of vocational rehabilitation, transition, and employment services, including state-contracted Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) for students ages 13–31, job coaching, supported employment, autism support services, and in-school programming. Fireside Unlimited now partners with schools, families, workforce agencies, and community organizations across Texas to meet students where they are and walk with them toward where they are going.

What has never changed is the approach: unhurried, individualized, and grounded in the belief that every person's potential is real — and worth the investment of genuine attention.

OUR VALUES

We see each person fully
Every student is an individual with unique strengths, goals, and a contribution to make.

We look past labels to the person beneath them.

We believe before they do.

Many of our students have been underestimated. We hold belief on their behalf until they are ready to hold it themselves.

Potential is not negotiable

We do not decide in advance what a student is capable of. Our job is to keep expanding what they — and the world — believe is possible.

Work restores dignity

Employment is not a consolation prize. It is a pathway to self-sufficiency, independence, and a life lived on one's own terms.

Partnership runs deep.

We work alongside families, schools, employers, and agencies — because the best outcomes are never achieved alone.

Preparation is an act of respect
Thorough, individualized preparation says: we take your future seriously. Every skill we teach is an investment in a life we believe in.

 

MEET OUR FOUNDER

Dr. Karia Bunting

Founder & Executive Director, Fireside Unlimited
Dr. Karia Bunting has spent more than four decades in education — as a classroom teacher, a university professor of history, a curriculum developer, and an advocate for learners who have too often been told that their ceiling is lower than it is. She founded Fireside Unlimited on a belief she has held her entire career: that every person, regardless of diagnosis or circumstance, has ability and purpose within them that is waiting to be drawn out. 

Before founding Fireside Unlimited, Dr. Bunting served as a Professor of History at Dallas Baptist University, where she developed courses in American history, cultural expression, and the history of ideas. She holds a Doctorate in Theology from Louisiana Baptist Theological Seminary, a Master's in Biblical Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary, and pursued doctoral studies in the Humanities at the University of Texas at Dallas, with a focus on the history of ideas, women's studies, literature, and ancient philosophy.

That breadth of formation — across history, ideas, theology, and education — shapes the way she sees her students: as people with a story still being written, whose contributions to their families, workplaces, and communities matter.

Certified Director, Vocational Rehabilitation — UNTWISEC Certified Job Coach — UNTWISE Certified Provider of Autism Services — Relias Certified VR Job Placement Specialist — UNTWISE Certified VR Supported Employment Specialist — UNTWISE State of Texas — Pre-ETS Contract, State of Texas Employment Services Contract