George Oliphant, host of the upcoming show George to the Rescue, was so impressed by the work of the non-profit founder Brittany Schiavone that he decided to renovate her home office, surprising her and her family with the results.
Brittany Schiavone and her team create custom care packages for families who are new parents to babies with Down Syndrome. The founder, who also has Down Syndrome, had to learn American Sign Language to help her communicate efficiently.
Who is Brittany Schiavone on George to the Rescue?
Brittany Schiavone started her non-profit organization, Brittany’s Baskets of Hope (BBoH), in 2016 after drawing from her own experiences as a woman with Down Syndrome. Her organization is “dedicated to bringing love, support, and hope to families who have recently welcomed a baby with Down syndrome into their lives,” as per Instagram profile.
The founder and Visionary in Chief believes that “people with Down syndrome can do anything—really, really anything!”
Schiavone was diagnosed with down syndrome at the time of her birth but instead of getting disheartened by the diagnosis, her parents “saw their little girl who they were going to raise just like the older brother, Justin.”
Schiavone joined Association for Children with Down Syndrome (ACDS) for training and she was the first baby in her class to start walking “at just nine months old.”
However, she had difficulty speaking due to which she learnt American Sign Language to communicate easily with her family. “Cookie” and “eat” were her favourite signs.
In 1993, she joined kindergarten and studied with her peers till seventh grade as the academics became too challenging for her. So, instead, she joined smaller classes to improve her skills.
Schiavone never let her disability hold her back. As a child, she did every activity she loved. From gymnastics, horse riding, dancing, walking the runway twice in a fashion show in school, and swimming “through the pool for the Special Olympics,” Schiavone did it all and graduated high school.
The Harry Potter fan loves to sing carpool karaoke, watch movies, bowl, and cook with her friends. Acaí bowls, zucchini muffins, and homemade pizza are her favorite things to make.
Schiavone’s organization delivers handmade baskets of baby items, including clothes, toys, informative books about the Down Syndrome and every essential item to bring joy to the baby and their families.
The organization sent their first basket of hope in October 2016. So far, BBoH has sent over 1,600 baskets of hope to families in all 50 states across the country and Puerto Rico.
The founder of the organization makes it a point to visit local babies and tell their families that their baby can grow up and live a great life too.
For her efforts and mission, Schiavone was named the L’Oreal Paris Woman of Worth National Honoree in New York City in 2019.
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