Guest Author: Katie Driscoll, Founder of Changing the Face of Beauty

Infantino is a proud gold partner of Changing the Face of Beauty.

The day my husband and I were told our child would be born with Down syndrome  I immediately visualized the faces of Chris Burke and Lauren Potter, two television actors with Down syndrome. Why? Because they were the only people I had ever been exposed to with Down syndrome. In those early months after her birth my husband and I continued to hold on tightly to our dream of a future for her. Why? Because, the year she was born there was a cheerleader on Glee with Down syndrome and that character gave me the comfort I needed to believe she was going to be okay. 

When I look at the world of advertising I see only opportunity to communicate how valuable humanity is as a whole. Over the past six years I have spent a great deal of time trying to understand why my daughter and so many others like her remain virtually unseen in the world they live. Not only have I tried to understand, I have spent countless days wondering what it would feel like to be part of a minority so undervalued. 

Five years ago, I boarded a plane with a supportive nudge from my husband with my daughter and my mother to San Diego. We attended the first Infantino Everybody Plays event, and as you can imagine, for me, a passionate mother trying to start conversations with brands about what inclusion meant to our family and to our community, this event was a dream come true.

We spent three days there celebrating all kids of all abilities. The event was exactly what I envisioned. Moms and babies together just being themselves. I don’t think Balboa Park, the location of the photo shoot that year, had ever seen the beauty that was brought by that event on that day. I knew then that if this international toy brand could see the potential of communicating to all their consumers, so could every other brand.

Changing the Face of Beauty began to take root that day, and I knew then that if I could nurture it to grow deep enough it had the potential to change the way our world viewed the disability community. I am eternally grateful to Infantino and their team for being one of the first, for continuing to support this mission of change, and for always maintaining the high standard of celebration and communication with all their consumers. Because of their commitment we have been able to influence well over 150 brands in the past 5 years. It is the perfect example of how we rise together.

I am so excited to link arms with not only Infantino but our partners Matilda Jane Clothing and Livie and Luca for the 2018 Everybody Plays event.  All three brands are the perfect example of what it looks like to focus business on making a positive impact on ALL consumers. And, because of their commitment they are empowering the future to do that same. 

They inspire the future to see, understand and value everyone through their beautiful road map to a world without limitations or boundaries.

About Changing the Face of Beauty

Changing the Face of Beauty empowers people living with disabilities by advocating for inclusive imagery, thus changing perceptions and igniting futures in the media and advertising industries.