Guest Post – Give from the Heart With Smiles, Time & Social Media

Jay Baldwin has just joined the 365give volunteer team! We love it when one of our volunteers want to share their giving ideas and rituals. Jay has just started as a volunteer with 365give and wrote this article for us. Thank you Jay! And we look forward to having you on board at 365give! Jay has an active Facebook group that she would love for you to join!

Jay Baldwin – Guest Post – Give From The Heart with Smiles, Time and Social Media

Hello, lovely humans! My name is Jay Baldwin and I am one of the newest volunteers here at 365give!

I am a twenty two year old university student who is also a strong activist and advocate for marginalized communities and a fighter of all things human rights. I was born with Spastic Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy and over the years I have acquired some mental health related disabilities too. I grew up in a small town and in all the years that I went to school, I never  really had friends who understood what it was like to be disabled in a world that wasn’t built with them in mind. So, my mission has been to create spaces where  people like me, who are marginalized and stigmatized, feel less alone and seen.

Which is why I run a Facebook group called: Disabled, Queer and Fabulous! Home to  over seven hundred and thirty disabled, neurodivergent and chronically ill 2SLGBTQIA+  people, from all over the world, as well as our supporters. At the end of the day, who better to build these communities than the people who are affected by the lack of them?

As well, I am also an ambassador for Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab- the hospital where I went after every surgery, as a kid and it changed my life! I have been involved in various campaigns, featured in articles, talked about the importance of inclusion for people with disabilities and so much more.

With the work that I  do, I understand that giving every day can truly change the world. Being disabled makes it hard to give money because I do not have much of that to begin with. As you can probably tell: not having much money has not stopped me from giving because I give my time, my love, my spirit,  and my passion! My experience is living proof that giving goes deeper than what is in your pocket, it is what is in your heart. It does not take a lot to give and I believe it makes the world a better place, when we can help our communities and lift each other up.

I am very grateful and excited to continue to share my journey and help this wonderful organization grow and thrive!

Join Jay on their Facebook Group!