Shortorah Carter and her husband, Anthony, have chosen “mainstream” education for their teen son with Down’s Syndrome because they want to make sure he is included with childhood friends, not separated into special ed.
In the same spirit, their nonprofit, Grateful Love Foundation, includes families who encounter not only Down’s, but all types of intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“We are here for anyone who faces these challenges,” Shortorah says, “because when our son was first diagnosed, we had so much difficulty finding answers.”
That was 15 years ago, when Nehemiah Tarrant was a baby. He now is a sophomore at Heritage High School.
The 12th annual Walk for God’s Angels is Saturday, Oct. 21, at Heritage, with registration at 11 a.m. and the start at noon. A two-kilometer course is mapped out, but any distance is fine.
Greater Love Foundation has grown far beyond the annual autumn walk. Shortorah takes the lead, and she need not worry about sound systems or emcees for her frequent events because her deejay husband owns and operates Five Star Light and Sound.
Few volunteers bring advanced college degrees to the table, but Shortorah is among them. She is a 2001 product of Arthur Hill High who achieved her bachelor’s in social work from Eastern Michigan University and her master’s from Wayne State.
“My goal was to work with substance abuse programs,” she says, “but my focus totally changed with Nehemiah.”
The calendar of events goes beyond a support group and informational seminars. With creative thinking, examples of activities have been a SuperHero Costume Night and a Safari Expedition.
Whether it’s Down’s or autism or cerebral palsy, whatever the affliction, touching and feeling may in their way become as basic as reading and writing. Shortorah explains, “To simply have them playing together is educational for them. The way I look at our son, along with all the children, is that he can do anything that anyone else does, it just may take more time.”
She was professionally employed with SVRC as director of vocational rehabilitation at the facility on Veterans Memorial Parkway, until a cutback earlier this year. This has not stopped her from carrying out the discipline of three events per month, even while she and her husband donate time and expenses. She has started to explore grant funds, and support also comes from apparel sales.
To view the Grateful Love Foundation website, click here.
For an original 2013 report by Bob Johnson, now mlive’s Saginaw News/Bay City editor and news leader, click here.
