Here’s how you can generate your own valuable life lesson.

I didn’t realize I’d be learning a valuable life lesson recently. To be honest, my strategy was to participate from the sidelines offering support if, and when, needed. That’s how it all began. A simple plan to execute a dream that my wife and I developed from the moment in 2017 that we first found out that our son Adam, born with down syndrome, was receiving a $2,000 scholarship to attend college. Yes, having Adam officially enrolled to take classes at a university was an incredible dream in and of itself, but it was upon hearing that our son with down syndrome was receiving a scholarship from an organization that triggered our dream of someday raising money for the organization that could in turn be utilized to provide OTHERS with a scholarship thus paying the blessing we had received forward.

                  Before I share with you how to generate your own valuable life lesson, I should provide you with some background information on our son Adam’s experience. Adam was fully included in the classroom with his peers throughout his K-12 school years. The goal was never for Adam to graduate with a diploma. We knew he could never meet the state requirements (especially the math) to garner a diploma. But his inclusion prepared him to be a contributing member of our community just like his K-12 peers. And he is, just like his 3 brothers.

While Adam was in his senior year of high school, we became aware of a program being offered at Saginaw Valley State University that his best friend Luke Drumright, also blessed with down syndrome, was a part of. Luke’s mother Susan deserves full credit for researching how other universities were including people with disabilities utilizing a unique point system that allowed people with disabilities to be present in the classroom, pursue campus work opportunities, be a member of the marching band or cheerleading squad or participate in an intramural sport, and pursue experiencing every other aspect of campus life. Susan presented the system to Saginaw Valley State University, and they embraced the opportunity to include people with disabilities naming the program “Think Cardinal.”

Adam applied to the Think Cardinal program and was accepted into it. That’s when Ruby’s Rainbow entered the picture. Ruby’s Rainbow is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that gives scholarships to help students with Down syndrome pursue higher education, vocational, or enrichment classes — eventually working toward independence and gainful employment. It was inspired by Ruby Plachta, who was born with Down syndrome, and founded by her parents in Austin, Texas. Mission in their words: to support students "rockin' that extra chromosome" in achieving their dreams of higher education and independence, while spreading awareness of their capabilities and general awesomeness.

Adam has many friends in our community including 2 friends, Luke Drumright and Sophianna Bressette, that also received scholarships from Ruby’s Rainbow. My wife reached out to their parents and shared our dream of having a fundraiser whose proceeds would be given to Ruby’s Rainbow so that other people born with down syndrome could receive scholarships and benefit the way Adam and his friends have. They immediately said yes which resulted in the birth of a fundraiser for Ruby’s Rainbow called “Squeeze the Day” which would be a lemonade stand handing out free lemonade while accepting donations if people chose to offer. A goal to raise $1,500 was set.

I had no clue of the life lesson that I was about to experience. It seems like that’s often the case with the most profound lessons we learn in life. The fundraiser was scheduled for a Saturday from 11a-2p at a location across from the main Hospital entrance in town. The first miracle took place when Assistant Editor of the Midland Daily News, Dan Chalk, published a front-page inspiring article the Tuesday beforehand. The article was entitled “Paying it Forward.” The article coincided with a social media blitz of videos describing these three amazing individuals and how they were attempting to raise money to help others (not themselves).

The big day arrived and the three people who had benefitted from receiving scholarships from Ruby’s Rainbow had their Squeeze the Day lemonade set and ready to go an hour before the official start. Scheduled to start at 11am that day, people began showing up before 10 with a level of excitement that I’ve only previously witnessed at Disney World. It was then that the miracles began to fall upon us like blessings from the sky.

I lost count of the number of people that brought a copy of the article Dan Chalk wrote earlier in the week, who were so moved by what he had written they felt compelled to show up and support the “pay it forward” fundraiser having never met nor heard of the three previously. This led many people to have their 1st real conversation with someone with disabilities. All I could do was step back, my eyes flooded with tears of joy and observe the miracles occurring right before me. It turned out that the miracles were just beginning.

There were five families that showed up that day, that had seen either the article or one of the “Squeeze the Day” social media posts that so many of our friends shared on their own timeline (Thank YOU!). They also had a child with down syndrome aged 15 and younger and they showed up to see what their child’s future might look like when they reached adulthood and whether they too might be able to dream of receiving a scholarship from Ruby’s Rainbow. Adam, Luke, and Sophianna were dishing out HOPE to these families like it was ice cream. And it wasn’t “one and done” hope. It was “Hey, now that we’ve met and bonded, let us help you succeed by sharing what we’ve learned” kind of hope. The miracles continued.

Friends showed up, neighbors showed up, four Midland police officers showed up, strangers driving by who noticed all the commotion stopped in wondering what was going on, several teachers and Para pros and therapists who had a direct connection to one or more of these three came by, work crews stopped by, and several people who have a loved one with a disability came by to offer support. All miracles.

Tears were all I could muster when a woman in her 80’s shared the story of her younger brother who was born with down syndrome in 1948. At the time of his birth his parents were given the choice of having him whisked away to an institution never to be seen again or taking him home. Her parents chose to take him home and her mother became dedicated to loving him the same way she loved his three older siblings. He lived a life of great value to his family and to the community they lived in until he passed away at the age of 58. As she was telling me his story, I kept returning to all of the HOPE that their family provided through their dedication to his quality of life that I believe just HAD to inspire other people’s view of their own life. Over the 25 minutes we chatted, I found so much hope in what she was sharing that I spent the last 5 minutes attempting to inspire her to write a book about her brother’s life and the positive impact he had on their family and other families they were connected to in some way. I hope she does so I can cheer for her as her brother’s story continues to have a positive impact on the world. Another huge miracle that day.

With a goal of raising $1,500 to give back to Ruby’s Rainbow so the organization can continue to provide scholarships to individuals blessed with down syndrome (yes, I said blessed), the final amount the “Squeeze the Day” fundraiser collected was just above $7,200. How can a person not believe in miracles, and the hope that miracles provide, when they witness what occurred in 4-5 short hours that will change the life of several other people across the country born with an extra chromosome on the 21st pair resulting in a down syndrome diagnosis. The positive impact that these scholarships will have on their life will result in their life having a positive impact on the community they live in. Call it the Butterfly Effect or the Ripple Effect or whatever might help you make the connection….IT’S REAL!

This fundraiser by three young adults with down syndrome provided a valuable life lesson that I’m already utilizing on a daily basis. And YOU can too. You can even generate the life lesson yourself. It’s super simple. All you have to do is identify anything that has had a positive impact on your life that you believe could have a similar positive impact on other people’s life. It goes directly back to a quote from Zig Ziglar I’m fond of using, which is “You can get everything you want in life, if you just help enough Other People get what They want!”

At the foundation of the “Squeeze the Day” fundraiser was selflessness. Not a single penny of what these three raised was going to spent on them. It was all to help others live a dream. A dream the three of them had previously experienced and utilized to build lives that go beyond the expectations of our society. They’re all having a positive impact on the community they live in and opening doors for others with disabilities.

Back to YOU and your ability to generate your own valuable life lesson. Here are some questions to consider. What does your unique set of life skills and knowledge offer that can help other people get what they want? If you were to hold a personal fundraiser for a non-profit organization that helps people (which all non-profits do), which non-profit would you choose and WHY? What would you want the money you would raise to be spent on? Scholarships? Food? Repairs to vehicles, furnaces, refrigerators, or home fixes? What if you held a fundraiser where people donated their time and talents rather than money (treasure)?

If you want to call me out right now and share that you don’t mind helping others get what they want but is there anything in it that leads to being able to generate my own life lesson…my answer is yes! The life lesson I learned the day of the fundraiser came to be throughout the experience of watching what was going on over the 4-5 hours. I witnessed the very best side of people in our community from a wide array of perspectives. Every conversation I had, heard, or noticed was good.

There was lots of positive discussion about difficult and challenging subjects that people with disabilities face in life, but ALL of the discussion was centered around an attempt to share what worked best, what didn’t and what each of us had gained from our unique experiences. Hope and Joy were being handed out and shared like the 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish story in the bible. With plenty left over.

Think about it, wouldn’t you like to experience the positive feelings and emotion that a selfless act can bring to your life? You don’t have to wait. The life lesson you could generate this very moment could come from calling someone that made a positive difference at some point in your life, thanking them for doing so, and sharing that you intend to make a similar positive difference in someone else’s life before a week passes by. Then find that new person and DO IT! It’ll bring you so much joy, you’ll want to do it again, and again, and again…until one day you realize that you’ve made a difference in the world in your own unique way and that’s something to celebrate. I’d love if you’d share your thoughts with me about what I’ve written here today. Send me an email and let me know. Hey…I Believe In YOU! GiddyUp!