Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brittany Schiavone. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Brittany , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
In 2014 when Brittany Schiavone, who just happens to have Down syndrome, was 27 years old, she saw a video of people helping children with Down syndrome. She immediately shared with her parents that she wanted to help, too. As parents tend to do, they had a conversation with Brittany and then promptly moved on with their lives. Brittany, however, did not.
In fact, she was so persistent that her parents began to think she really could do this. Two years later, after much research and paperwork, the non-profit corporation, Brittany’s Baskets of Hope was born, with Brittany as its Founder. Initially, the plan was to connect with their local hospital and deliver a basket to parents who have just given birth to a baby with Down syndrome to celebrate the baby and to let the parents know they were not alone. The problem they did not consider was the hospital privacy laws and that Brittany hates hospitals! They pivoted and began contacting local and national Down Syndrome Associations and soon became one of their resources. The exposure from the agencies and the incredible power of the internet soon found the family scrambling to meet the demand of parents requesting a basket. Brittany’s appearances on local and national news shows such as “The Today Show”, “Good Morning America and “Fox Business”, plus her basement office renovation on the TV home improvement show, “George to the Rescue’ brought her national attention. Brittany was also voted Loreal Paris Women of Worth National Honoree at a Gala in NYC in 2019, the first woman with a disability to hold that honor. In March of 2020 she filmed a promotional ad for Loreal in Los Angeles with Viola Davis.
Since her first basket delivery in 2016, Brittany has delivered over 1,200 celebratory baby baskets to families who have given birth to a baby with Down syndrome all over the country.
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Brittany , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
As a young woman with Down syndrome, Brittany Schiavone has always defied stereotypes by showing others what she’s capable of accomplishing. Her passion for living life to the fullest sparked an idea to help parents who are expecting babies with Down syndrome. In order to change the narrative from “I’m sorry” to “Congratulations”, Brittany sends personalized
Welcome Baskets containing handmade blankets, hats and booties, as well as other gifts for the babies and resources for the parents, as they begin their journey. Since her first basket delivery in 2016, Brittany’s Baskets of Hope has celebrated over 1,200 babies in all 50 states! Through her own compassion and persistence, Brittany is showing the world that people with Down syndrome, can truly do anything they set their minds to.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
The essence of Brittany’s Baskets of Hope is Brittany herself. As a young woman with Down syndrome, she is the ambassador and the face of the her non-profit corporation. People with Down syndrome are usually overlooked and undervalued by our society, as are other individuals with other disabilities. The power of Brittany’s story is Brittany, and that she had the vision, the persistence and was lucky enough to have supportive people around her to help her make her vision a reality. She is not the President or CEO of her company because realistically, her disability makes that impossible. But, she is the undisputed Founder and contributes daily to the direction her company is headed. With support, she gives speeches and presentations to show the capabilities of individuals with Down syndrome. By Brittany being out in the public eye, she is challenging the stereotypical viewpoints of people with disabilities and proving that, as she likes to say, “People with Down syndrome can do anything…really, really anything”!
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
As with many non-profit corporations, Brittany’s Baskets of Hope initially began with family seed money to set up the basics and purchase the initial supplies for the contents of the baskets. It wasn’t a tremendous expenditure of funds at the beginning because it grew slowly. The magical thing that happened was that as Brittany’s notoriety, popularity and internet presence grew, so did the charitable donations. People from all over the country were eager to help. Donations of money from individuals and corporations. Donations of hand knitted baby blankets, booties, sweaters and hats from knitters and chrocheters all over the country. Donations from people who have an individual with Down syndrome in their lives and many who didn’t. They set up a website with an Amazon Wish List and the donations poured in. And of course, Loreal Paris was a major contributor with their incredibly generous donation to BBOH from Brittany’s honor of being their 2019 Women of Worth National Honoree. TV home renovator, George Oliphant and his team of local volunteer craftsmen from his NBC show, “George to the Rescue” renovated Brittany’s basement into a beautiful and functional work space to store her baby gifts and to act as an office and assembly facility. Due to the generosity and kindness of individuals all over the country, BBOH has never had to fundraise to support itself. They are very blessed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brittanysbasketsofhope.org
- Instagram: brittanysbaskets
- Facebook: brittany’s baskets of hope
Image Credits
Brittany and Viola Davis Women of Worth courtesy of Getty Images