Giving Hearts: #inclusionmatters
by Jen and Addie Kearns
About the Garments
My name is Jen Franklin Kearns, and I have a 10 year old son, Alex, with Down syndrome. My family and I have become dedicated advocates for inclusion, and now my eight year old daughter, Addie, has decided to get involved. While in second grade this year, she created her own foundation, Giving Hearts, to teach her classmates about the importance of inclusion of all students.
“Show the world that #InclusionMatters to you, too, by buying our shirt and supporting our campaign!” -Addie and Alex
Addie’s words about creating Giving Hearts:
“I got the idea when my class had to go to the next door classroom. I was sitting on the carpet when I thought about how some people think kids who are different are weird. So, I told one of my best friends about what I was thinking about and I told her that we should do something about it. We want to teach others to include everybody.”
Addie’s epiphany stretches further than just including kids with special needs into her school’s everyday routines. Everyone should be included, regardless of our differences. Inclusion matters. I blog about many issues that we frequently encounter, and I use #InclusionMatters to tag the posts. Teaching our children that everybody should be included and welcomed, that everyone deserves equal rights and treatment, is so important.
We couldn’t be more proud of Addie for wanting to help raise awareness at such a young age. Her compassion toward her brother is teaching others how to see beyond a person’s differences and just accept and love those around us.
Addie has a desire to help raise money for her brother’s Buddy Walk team, and I have named her the Co-Captain of Team Alex for this year. She was eager to launch an I Heart Garments campaign to help spread her message of inclusion even further than the walls of her elementary school, while helping raise money for the Down Syndrome Association of Central Ohio (via Team Alex) at the same time.
Thank you for your support and for spreading the word of Giving Hearts! #inclusionmatters
Take a look at our Team Alex Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/
And our Team Alex Buddy Walk fundraising page http://www.columbusbuddywalk.
*The Kids Crew unisex size equivalency: