Limitless

Today is Giving Tuesday! Will you consider donating to our parent nonprofit Independence Through GRACE on this day of generosity? donate.itgf.org

Your donation will support business owners with diverse abilities as we seek to expand services in 2023 ✨

Visit donate.itgf.org to support our mission!

We love this piece from one of our team’s favorite artists, ! This is the perfect message to share in October, which is both National Down Syndrome Awareness Month AND National Disability Employment Awareness Month!

These two have been busy gaining various business and employment skills by helping us out with the Limitless coffee cart!

Be sure to show them some love and check out their small businesses!

FEATURE FRIDAY! VK Girl Creations
We’re happy to share our very first with you: our new friends Victoria & Jennifer at VK Girl Creations!
_______

When you believe in yourself you can do anything you put your mind to do. VK Girl Creations is a mother and daughter small business that showcases our artistic creativity with our handcrafted creations. In 2015, this journey started as a hobby and began with knitting beanie hats by lead designer Victoria. Vics Knitz was our first logo and was a hit throughout Victoria's high school years. The continued success of her knitted designs and support from the community motivated our team to continue to grow.
During the pandemic in 2020, our team decided to launch a website and in doing so we created VK Girl Creations, a small business to showcase a variety of fun fashion items all handcrafted by our team. We offer knitted beanies, bracelets, earrings and brand new to our online store is fashion garments we have transformed with our designs. Our products are colorful and unique and we strive to create quality inventory!
Victoria is a multidisciplinary artist who diligently works on strengthening her designs by practicing techniques and experimenting with colorful ideas. She is inspired by designers such as Betsey Johnson and Coco Chanel and wants to make her own impression on her customers with her colorful brand. She is a heart disease survivor and we honor this within our own logo with the color red, her favorite color purple and you will see a heart and butterfly on our logo. Victoria is also on a mission to encourage and inspire those with unique learning abilities. She enjoys sharing her story of transition from student to successful entrepreneur.
Our business is mostly run by me, Jennifer, Victoria's mom and business partner. She inspires me to work hard and also work on my own creativity! It is a dream that has come true for Victoria and I am happy to work alongside her! VK Girl Creations is an opportunity for our team to show what believing and achieving can reward you with and we thank you for visiting our website and joining our creative business journey!

Follow them at VK Girl Creations
Visit their website www.vkgirlcreations.com

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CasS46rg-Xw/?utm_medium=copy_link

Watch this reel by choose.limitless on Instagram Patrick Watson • Je te laisserai des mots

Travis is moving! This is bittersweet news: we will miss him, but we are so excited for that the future holds for him and his family! ❤️

DO IT TOGETHER
We can go further and do things better if we do it together. We embrace community within our organization, cities, nation, and world.

"I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits."

STAND IN THE GAPS
When our participants experience gaps in the system, we dare to become the bridge that leads them to success.

SEE THE VALUE
We choose to see the value in every person and every situation, and look at life with positivity and hope.

“People with disabilities [are]… especially vulnerable to human trafficking.” (Trafficking in Persons Report, 2016)

Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. It is important to learn about how different groups of people are targeted: it may be in different ways than you think. People with disabilities are vulnerable to all types of trafficking, but there is a unique risk of being targeted by traffickers to gain access to SSI and SSDI public benefits.

To learn more, visit
https://www.adultadvocacycenters.org/blog/human-trafficking-a-concern-for-disability-community

*If you think someone may be in trouble, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888*

Think Different
We aren’t afraid to do things a little differently, whether in our participants’ business models or how we connect with others in the community.

Dream Big, Work Hard
We believe that big dreams paired with hard work have the power to bring us farther than we think possible.
-
Our core values are the heart of our organization! Keep getting to know our vision at Limitless as we share our core values this month, or see them all now on our website: https://www.chooselimitless.org/our-vision

Happy New Year! We hope that your year is filled with joy and that you can continue to rise above expectations in 2022!

You can finish 2021 on a positive note by making a tax-deductible donation to empower people with exceptional abilities to start or grow their micro-enterprises! Give now: https://chooselimitless.networkforgood.com/projects/130861-main-giving-page

We have so many ideas & goals for 2022! Here are a few:
- Create an online directory to make it easy to support business owners with exceptional abilities
- Host networking events
- Offer online business training that's accessible to everyone

There's only 3 days left to donate to charitable causes for 2021 tax purposes: please consider partnering with us! https://chooselimitless.networkforgood.com/projects/130861-main-giving-page

Travis, our wonderful coffee cart attendant, started with Limitless this year. We've helped with skills training, and his coffee knowledge and skills have improved drastically!.

“I love Limitless! I have a lot of opportunities to be more independent and get the skills to live the life I want to live. I’m so blessed to work with people that care about my future... I’m really looking forward to being my own boss someday! Limitless believes I can do it!" - Travis

We can't wait to expand our services to help more people like Travis dream big and achieve their micro-enterprise goals! To join us in our mission, please consider donating today! https://chooselimitless.networkforgood.com/projects/130861-main-giving-page

Say Farewell 2021! With a gift to empower business owners with exceptional abilities in 2022, you can end this year on a positive note! GIVE NOW: https://chooselimitless.networkforgood.com/projects/130861-main-giving-page

Donate Today You can give business owners with exceptional abilities the resources they need to thrive in the business world. Limitless exists to equip business owners with exceptional abilities by bridging the gaps between their dreams and their success. We believe that everyone has the capacity to push past th...

Only a few days left to donate for 2021 tax purposes! Please for your end-of-year giving! You can easily donate online here: https://chooselimitless.networkforgood.com/projects/130861-main-giving-page

Merry Christmas! We hope your Christmas is filled with family, friends, love, and laughter! ❤️🎄

Meet the team! Alyssa heads our development at Limitless, and is involved in all things behind-the-scenes (you may have “met” her through social media DMs or email updates). She was born & raised in Bakersfield, but currently lives in Italy with her husband, Tyler… they absolutely love it there! Alyssa has been working in disability services for adults and children for the past few years, and has spent time studying psychology, social work, and now public/non profit administration. She believes that all people are inherently valuable and deserve the chance to live a full, purposeful life.

2021 is almost over, can you believe it? Please consider joining us as we go into 2022 with big hopes for the coming year! You can donate here: https://chooselimitless.networkforgood.com/projects/130861-main-giving-page

By the way... it's the first day of winter! What's your favorite thing about the season?

Meet the team! Baylie is our V.P., and she is all about building relationships in the community, while also dreaming up future plans for Limitless! She enjoys spending time with her husband Jack and their family, writing music, and reading books! Baylie wholeheartedly believes in Limitless’ mission, and is passionate about helping people reach their full potential by giving them an opportunity to do what they love to do.

“Know me for my abilities, not my disability.” Robert M. Hensel

We want to hear from all of you! What are some of the things you love that you're able to do?

Meet the team! Mike, the President/CEO of Limitless, has been working in the area of disability services for the past 13 years. He served as Vice President and Regional Director for Path Point of Kern County, then as the Director of Operations for Goodwill Industries’ Workforce Development division.

In 2011 Mike established New Options LLC to assist individuals labeled as developmentally disabled in the area of customized employment with a focus on micro-enterprise development. New Options has assisted with micro-enterprise startups in multiple industries including Fashion and Apparel, Home Decor, Information Technology, Videography/Editing, Book Publishing, Graphics and Animation, Online Retail, Motivational Speaking, Customizable Gifts among many others.

Mike continues to serve as the President and CEO of New Options but has established Limitless Micro-Enterprise Development Inc., a 501c(3), to help resolve barriers currently experienced by exceptionally-abled micro-entrepreneurs during both startup and growth phases of their businesses.

This week we shared some information about the history of disability rights in America. There's much more that we didn't cover though, from the longest sit-in at a federal building in history (504 sit-in) to the Capital Crawl in 1990. If you want to learn more, you can start with this NY Times article that summarizes some important moments in history, but don't stop there! There are so many resources out there to learn more, and all it takes is a google search!

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/us/ada-disabilities-act-history.html

‘Nothing About Us Without Us’: 16 Moments in the Fight for Disability Rights (Published 2020) The disability civil rights movement has many distinct narratives, but the prevailing themes are of community, justice and equity.

It's !

We've made progress in this country with acts protecting people with disabilities (see the past few posts!). There's more to do though: almost 80% of adults with developmental disabilities still are not employed. This is just one statistic that shows how we can grow!

At Limitless, we believe that EVERYONE is equal, and should all have the opportunities to seek independence through employment and self-employment! This is why our goal is to equip business owners with exceptional abilities by bridging the gaps, empowering them to rise above expectations in the business world and beyond.