Parents of children with disabilities are not only parents but they are advocates too. From the moment their child is born they have to fight to make sure that their child has every opportunity afforded to them.
Amy Wright of Wilmington, NC’s youngest children, Beau and Bitty, both have Down syndrome.
“When you become a parent of a child with special needs, you are instantly thrust into becoming an advocate,” Wright told CNN. “Trying to make people see the beauty in their lives that we see. My children are not broken.”
Wright eventually learned that almost 70 percent of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities don’t have jobs. So she set out to be not only an advocate for her children but for many others with Down syndrome as well.
Wright opened Bitty & Beau’s Coffee in January 2016 and now employees about 40 disabled employees at the popular shop.
“It hit me like a lightning bolt: a coffee shop!” Wright said. “I realized it would be the perfect environment for bringing people together. Seeing the staff taking orders, serving coffee — they’d realize how capable they are.”
Wright was chosen by online voters to be CNN’s 2017 Hero of the Year.
She won $110,000 to grow her businesses and contribute to ABLE to WORK USA.
“People with disabilities have been in the shadows for too long, but no more,” Wright said accepting the award from Kelly Ripa and Anderson Cooper.
“I am bringing this home to the 40 employees that work at Bitty & Beau’s Coffee because they are my heroes, and most of all to my two youngest children, Bitty and Beau, who are my inspiration. I want you to know because I know you’re watching at home tonight, Bitty and Beau, that I would not change you for the world but I will change the world for you.”
https://www.facebook.com/BeausCoffee/posts/1608191862549332
Wright said she wanted to change the way people view those with disabilities.
“My employees are not broken; 200 million people across the world living with an intellectual or developmental disability are not broken,” Wright said. “What is broken is the lens through which we view people with disabilities.”
At Bitty & Beau’s, you get more than a cup of coffee.
You’re actually giving someone the opportunity to build their social skills and feel motivated, confident and independent. She thanked her husband, her two eldest daughters, and her youngest kids Bitty & Beau upon receiving her award.
We can’t wait to see how the coffee shop will continue to grow and change the way the world views people with disabilities.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
