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April partnership with ✨
We partnered with Southern California law enforcement to raise money for special needs in place of their annual torch run, which is canceled due to the pandemic.
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WHY SPECIAL OLYMPICS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA?
The revolution is inclusion.
This year, due to COVID-19, Southern California Law Enforcement is unable to host their annual Torch Run to fundraise for Special Olympics. Instead, GenGen will be hosting the GenGen x Special Olympics Southern California sticker fundraiser!
The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.
We are more alike than we are different.
For many, it is easy to dismiss those that are different than us and think that they are lesser than. That is not true at all.
If we take the time and effort to understand those with disabilities and see them as people with a valuable perspective, we open up many avenues to see change in ourselves as well and build fruitful relationships with those in this wonderful community.
Just because people with disabilities seem different doesn't mean that they are our projects or charity cases. It also doesn’t mean we should pretend that we don’t see those differences. Instead, we must celebrate those differences, seek the bridges connect our likeness, and live this life together.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Listen.
Before we started planning the campaign and designing the stickers, we met with a few friends who either had special needs or were associated to someone with special needs in ato gain a better understanding of their lives. Those with special needs are not lesser than. In fact, they offer such valuable perspective that we can all learn from.
Empathize.
One of the biggest lessons we learned at GenGen is that it is important to step out from the sidelines and get messy with others in order to understand where they’re coming from. Taking listening a step further and trying our best to both understand from their perspective and live life alongside them.
Educate.
As we continue to learn more about the special needs, we learned it was important to share the powerful lessons we’ve learned and spread awareness. At GenGen, we want to help our community reshape their perspectives and grow in heart for the special needs community!
Read our post on “How to Overcome Conversational Fear when Talking to Someone with Disabilities!”→
The stickers are here!
we paired 2 talented artists and asked them to create stickers for fundraising!
hover/tap the card to see the creative behind each sticker!
“We are more alike than we are different.”
@karakanani, Creative Director of GenGen
What inspired your sticker?
“After taking part in a conversation with the disabled community, I was taught what it meant to appreciate the things people CAN do. Aligning with this and Special Olympics’ messages of inclusion, I wanted this sticker to communicate that the pursuit of unity starts with transforming our mindsets to see likeness first. Designing this sticker has also taught me how humanizing it is to prioritize connection over comparison.
As a team member of GenGen, I want to better apply these lessons of listening and inclusion. Making mistakes and learning new approaches is all a part of the humbling process of becoming a better member for the communities I have been placed in.”
“I can fly too”
@tiffanychenart
What inspired your sticker?
“After talking with Abbi, Andrew, and Jeanette, I had started thinking about how disabilities (visible or invisible) get marked as "othered" and, at times, something to be afraid of or hide. From there, I thought maybe a cute animal or two with limb difference or other sorts of differing ability could help children (but maybe also adults) understand that visible differences don't bely who we are on the inside.
Abbi had mentioned that the eagle holds a special meaning for her, and so I decided to draw an eagle with a cast on its wing. The eagle is holding a torch in its bound wing (a nod to Special Olympics) and it flies to the left, over the words “I can fly too”. I felt that the dynamism and the wording would be fitting for Special Olympics, with its encouragement of being active, but it could also challenge people’s assumptions of what people with disabilities can do. In particular, Special Olympic’s website says they try to focus not on what a person with disabilities can’t do, but rather what they can.”
