Hello, friends!
Today is a big day for us here at The Lucky Few. When I started sharing the glimpses of our lives on social media ten years ago, I never would have imagined it would lead us here. Everyday, I am thrilled and grateful to see what this amazing, messy, crazy life has given us. As The Lucky Few has changed and grown, our mission too, has evolved as our opportunities to truly make a difference develop. After much reflection on our part, it was clear that our efforts to shift narratives and create a space where everyone belongs wouldn’t just benefit us and our family, but everyone. And so, we decided to yet again embark on a new and terrifying adventure and start a non-profit, The Lucky Few Foundation, to support our mission and allow us to reach an even wider audience.
It is my absolute honor to share The Lucky Few Foundation with you all. What is The Lucky Few Foundation? It is a storytelling machine that will work to highlight the humanity within a Down syndrome diagnosis. While the Avis family will still continue as The Lucky Few brand, and I will continue to write and speak as an advocate for inclusion, our work with the Foundation will be geared toward sharing the stage with others. We love sharing our story, and we are ever so grateful for the support that has come along with sharing our story. But it is important to us that we are not the only ones on stage. That others have the opportunity to speak.
We know that sharing our experiences has allowed so many people to see the beauty and magic within a Down syndrome diagnosis, but we also know that there are millions of people out there who have similar stories. People whose intimate knowledge and understanding of Down syndrome, either as a person with DS or someone who loves them, can also change minds and hearts. Their stories deserve to be told, and that is what The Lucky Few Foundation sets out to do.
This March, in honor of World Down Syndrome Day, we will be sharing 21 stories in 21 days through the Foundation’s project, This is Down Syndrome. These stories feature people with Down syndrome of different ages and walks of life and the people closest to them.
We kick off the month with Cole Sibus, an impressive young man and actor who most recently starred in ABC’s Stumptown. Cole happens to be our special guest on The Lucky Few Podcast this week. Listen to the episode here. We’ll continue the month releasing a new story everyday, leading up to WDSD on March 21st, 2022 and another big reveal!
That’s it for now friends; I hope you join us this month in reading, sharing, and celebrating these stories as we officially launch The Lucky Few Foundation.
Shouting their worth and shifting narratives,
Heather Avis
Founder of The Lucky Few Foundation, Narrative shifter • New York Times Bestselling author
