Our journey began in 2012 as Runnning for Lily, a platform to help spread awareness and acceptance for people with Down Syndrome within our community and fundraising for two local organizations that were there for us from the beginning. For the first few years, our annual fundraising event, The Run Up for Downs, we raised over $62,000 for the Central Mississippi Down Syndrome Society and The Little Lighthouse of Central Mississippi.
Looking to the future for our children, we’ve spoken with several families over the years about the things their adult children are doing after completing high school. More times than not, the answer was “nothing” or that there were no opportunities available. There maybe a handful whose children with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities have jobs. Some businesses may not understand the capabilities or full potential of our children. This is where our new venture, the Lily Pad, comes into play.
Like a frog using a lily pad, we want to be a stepping stone to the next path. The Lily Pad Cafe will run as a not-for-profit restaurant focused on employing and training individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to give them the work skills and confidence necessary to obtain employment with other businesses.
