U.K. clothing company River Island is getting some major accolades for hiring six adorable kid models with special needs to help represent the popular brand.
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These kids, who range from ages three to 10, will help the company promote its new children’s clothing line, as The Sun reported.
The kids in these ads have a variety of disabilities, including cerebral palsy, vision issues and Down syndrome.
Take, for instance, Mia Wenham, 3, who has cerebral palsy and Cora Bishop, 6, and Gabriel Sohota, 4, who both have Down syndrome. Then there’s Terry Birriman, 5, who suffers from both epilepsy and cerebral palsy.
SEE THEM ALL:
https://www.facebook.com/riverisland/videos/10155631432353541/
The six children will help represent River Island’s spring and summer collections, according to The Sun.
“Celebrating the differences that make them unique, our favourite little people are here to tell you LABELS ARE FOR CLOTHES, NOT KIDS,” reads a description on the River Island website.
The announcement that a group of children with special needs would help represent the brand follows the company’s October 2017 hiring of Joseph Hale, 11, a little boy with Down syndrome.
At the time, Joseph’s mom, Karen, said she was hopeful that her son’s inclusion in River Island’s campaign would help change negative perceptions that some have of Down syndrome, iTV reported.
“Anybody with special needs and or a disability needs to be included in everything and anything – they can thrive and they just need to be given that chance to show they are just the same as everybody else,” she said. “I think people need to see the positives. [Down’s syndrome] is not the be all and end all, they can go on to have really good enriched lives.”
Josie Cartridge, customer director at River Island, said at the time that, “by being more inclusive,” the brand hopes to “achieve wider acceptance for people with disabilities.” What an amazing way to make a difference.
As Faithwire previously reported, Gerber also recently announced that Lucas Warren, a 1-year-old from Dalton, Georgia, will be the first child with Down syndrome ever to be named a Gerber baby since the company’s contest began back in 2010.