London calling
by Rachel
A co-worker sent me a link to a post on Indiegogo by a Georgetown grad who’s received a full scholarship to the London School of Economics and Political Science. Anastasia Somoza is looking forward to pursuing a master’s degree in human rights and traveling and making new friends in London. But she is facing some significant setbacks.
Anastasia Somoza’s cerebral palsy requires that she have an aide help her get in and out of bed, get to class, dress, shower and transfer to and from her wheelchair and walker. As things stand, she is unable to attend school in London because Medicaid will not fund her aide outside of her state of New York.
That’s not stopping Anastasia though! Indiegogo is a global platform for crowdfunding that lets anyone anywhere raise money for anything. She put her story up on Indiegogo and set a goal to raise $15,000 by June 15th — that’s the amount she’ll need to fund three community service volunteers to assist her at school.
I love Anastasia’s can-do attitude, and the fact that she’s using her challenges to make a difference for others. She’s actively raising awareness of the obstacles people with disabilities face when trying to access higher education. And along with her mother, she is working on legislation that would enable students with disabilities who need personal-care assistance to take their aide with them if they are enrolled at an institution of higher education. She really wants to help people with disabilities reach their maximum potential and be as independent as possible, which echoes Easter Seals’ mission.
I found her video so inspiring. I hope you’ll watch it … and share it!