Hi guys! We were camping for a week and took a break from posting. Since we have a few more followers, I thought now was a good time to introduce myself again.
My name is Jessica Connor, and I started this account back in Dec 2016, shortly after my youngest daughter Ava was diagnosed with a rare condition called Williams Syndrome.
When I didn’t find a lot of families exactly like mine, I branched out and found all types of families who were raising children with disabilities.
I realized how much we had in common with each other; despite our children’s different diagnosis’.
It led me to believe that the disability community as a whole, can make so much more progress if we work together more.
It helped me realize that: “Inclusion starts with US!” We can’t expect inclusive treatment for our kiddos, without first doing it amongst ourselves.
It helped me understand what “spreading or raising awareness” really meant to me, and that’s this: it’s more important that society loves my child for all of who she is - than learning every.little.single.thing about her condition.
From the start, I’ve always encouraged families like mine to share posts about their child; who they are as a person. To post about the beautiful life lessons they learn from them - to share their journey...all in hopes to help others 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 what it’s like to have a child with disabilities...because once you 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 it, the more you understand the beauty.
I believe that the more of us sharing our lives - the more we (indirectly) teach others just how beautiful “different” is.
Last thing is this: I’ve always been an entrepreneur, but Ava helped me realize how much of a social entrepreneur I am.
I want to help families share their stories 𝗮𝗻𝗱 help them get paid to do it. I’ve slowly been creating a Marketplace for us - and when you shop our stores on @outshinelabels, you can do so knowing that the majority of the profits go back to the families (& nonprofits too!)
It’s a lot to summarize, I could go on and on...but thank you for following this community called Outshine Labels! We want you to become a disability advocate along with us! - Jessica, Blayne, Stella & Ava