It is that time of year again to write and ask you to support an organization near and dear to Emma’s heart, Keshet. Although something so exciting happened to Emma just last weekend that we decided we are not going to give you a long update of Emma’s progress this year which like every year is truly remarkable. Instead we want to share with you a story about Emma’s tremendous personal growth and the kind of person she has become with the love and support of Keshet behind her. Keshet just unveiled a new logo and tag line which characterizes Emma’s year perfectly - Forever Growing!

For Hanukkah in 2019, Emma’s special gift was a trip to Nashville, the Home of Country Music. As many of you know, Emma is an avid country music fan! About a month later just in time for Emma’s 15th birthday, her American Idol, Luke Bryan, announced he would be playing in Nashville on July 30, 2020. Emma was over the moon with this combo Birthday/Hanukkah experience and was willing to wait patiently for the next six months for this event to happen. This was a huge endeavor for Emma and a sign of great personal growth. Then came COVID and quarantine and summer of 2020 became 2021. 

Fast forward to today, Emma and I are writing to you from the plane on the way home from her incredible weekend in Nashville. Emma has had one dream for the past four years which was to meet Luke Bryan. Much like everything Emma does in her life, if she believes in herself she believes it will happen. This is how Emma learned to talk, walk and read just to name a few. With great determination and perseverance, she believes she can accomplish anything she puts her mind to even things like meeting a celebrity!

Emma also understands that she cannot accomplish anything without the help of others. Whether it’s her parents, siblings, family, friends or helpers at Keshet, she is willing to accept help and appreciates people’s thoughtfulness along the way. Her natural kindness is contagious and her zest for life is palpable. She finds joy in the simple things in life, like a stranger smiling back at her after she greets them with a “Hello” on the street. Emma exudes happiness all the time which truly shows in her smile and how she carries herself with her head held high traveling in her wheelchair. Never embarrassed by her inabilities, but always focused on how she can make a difference in someone else's day. Her slogan in life is to bring light onto others! Emma realizes that the way she lives her life - with pride and enjoyment in every moment - does in fact inspire others. Since she began spending everyday as part of the Keshet community over three years ago, she has gained confidence, learned to love herself for who she is and appreciate all that she can do. Keshet has taught her to appreciate and share all of the wonderful things she can do - never pining to be typical - but rather finding the extraordinary in herself.

So now back to Emma’s weekend in Nashville in case you have not seen, heard or watched Emma’s recent Tik Tok video that has over 1 million views (which unlike most 16 year olds Emma could care less about her instant Tik Tok fame!). Emma’s dream of meeting Luke Bryan finally came true and in true Emma fashion, not only did she meet him, but she shared a very special moment with Luke at his concert. Attached below is the video for you to see for yourself the light that Emma brought Luke. Emma’s smile and pure happiness says it all!

Bryan and I always say that Emma has had an extraordinary life, both extraordinarily hard and extraordinarily amazing. We sometimes attribute these extraordinary things like being serenaded by her idol to her having special needs, but now we see that this isn’t the reason at all - these things happen to her because Emma is extraordinary!

Emma was chosen out of 25,000 people in the arena to go up to the stage and share a special moment with Luke and it had nothing to do with her being a kid with special needs. It was because she showed pure joy just dancing in the aisle before the concert. She was just happy to be there and be a part of the audience. Never expecting anything extraordinary to happen or feeling entitled to it. Her love of country music and Luke Bryan showed on her face, in her expressions and her dance moves. Emma’s dancing is not like typical dancing. Emma often loses her balance as she goes up on one foot to show off her ballet moves or takes a curtsy at the end of the song. But what we realize now is that people can feel how hard Emma works to dance to the music, something that they do so naturally and often take for granted. They envy her confidence and how she has pride in her dancing whether it looks like everyone else's or not. Her confidence is inspiring to everyone who watches her and it definitely was inspirational to Luke. 

This confidence and pride in herself was not always apparent. It was often locked inside beneath feelings of insecurity, inadequacy and frustration. But as soon as she got to the Keshet Day School and she stopped going to school everyday and trying to keep up with kids who she could never catch up to - she found her inner peace. An acceptance of herself, her abilities and her disabilities. And she loves herself for who she is - no longer trying to fit in. And the beauty of being herself and loving herself is what country music fans see every time we are at a concert, is what Luke Bryan saw on her face when he looked into the audience and what Keshet sees in Emma each and every day. 

Keshet has fostered Emma to grow and continue evolving and playing on her strengths while never letting her weaknesses get her down or keep her from setting big goals for herself and achieving them. So maybe she set out to meet Luke Bryan in Nashville, but Bryan and I were sure not privy to her plans. But some angels in the crowd and one caring country music superstar saw in Emma what we know as her shining her light on this world. And we see the light everyday, but we are so glad when others, like all those at Keshet who support her, see it too.

Forever growing is a perfect slogan for an organization like Keshet as well as for Emma. An organization that challenges each person they serve to reach their potential for inner growth and to share their inner beauty with the world in whatever form that takes. Keshet provides unwavering love and support to help kids and adults with developmental disabilities live their dreams and be the best versions of themselves. We are so grateful that Emma has Keshet in her life to provide her with more confidence and love than any parents could hope for and offer her an amazing life worth living.

So we ask you to please help Emma in her support of Keshet, an organization which is Forever Growing and Forever Pushing Emma Forward to Dream Big and Achieve Even Bigger! 

Thank you for your continued love and support!