How It All Started

Jess, our President and co-founder, was very oblivious to the expense of raising a child with special needs, the lack of assistance and funding, the expensive equipment, the therapies, the never-ending stress, until she gave birth to her first child who was born with special needs.

The world that she knew ended, and she was thrown into a foreign world that she knew nothing about – a world she found at times to be very unfair and un-inclusive.

The years went by, her baby grew into a little girl and the need for expensive equipment started. Jess has said “It is extremely hard to ask for help, it is even harder to accept it; but when it’s the only way to get something that your child needs, you swallow your pride and do it”.  With the support of her family, friends and our amazing community, they were able to fundraise and purchase the equipment that her daughter required.

She then had many people approaching her for help. She wanted to be able to help everyone because she knew how much it meant to her family, and the financial burden that was lifted when our community stuck together and helped her daughter.

She wanted other families to have the same opportunity and to have some of that stress lifted from their lives, even if it was just for a short amount of time.

That’s when the light bulb turned on “why not register a charity”.

From Presidents report 2013

I looked up the meaning of a Fairy Godmother and came across this-

Thesaurus Legend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun

1. fairy godmother – a generous benefactor     benefactor, helper – a person who helps people or institutions (especially with financial help)

2.fairy godmother – a female character in some fairy stories who has magical powers and can bring unexpected good fortune to the hero or heroinefaerie, faery, fairy, fay, sprite – a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers

I think the name and its meaning say it all. We are helpers, although our magical powers may not be real, the difference we can make certainly is real. The hero or heroine in our story are the children who have special needs and the families of these children. If you want to see super human strength, just look into the hearts of these people.

I often think of a quote by Mandy Hale when I think of our committee members:

“There is nothing more beautiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life beautiful for others”

– Jess Tabart, 2013