INSPIRATION: Brianna Williams has not allowed Cerebral Palsy to stop her. The young woman created a program to help others with physical challenges.

PHOTO BY ALAN LUBY

By DAPHNE TAYLOR

Special to South Florida Times

ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla. – Brianna Williams of Royal Palm Beach knows about hardship.

“Three days after I was born, I needed open heart surgery. With the prayers of family and friends, I successfully made it through my six-hour surgery, said Williams.

“At the age of three, I was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, and my doctor said I would never be able to walk, talk, or do anything my peers were able to do.

At the ripe old age of three-and-a-half, I got my first power wheelchair. I left many trampled toes and scuffed up furniture in my wake learning to use it. My family might tell you that I still leave scuffed up walls around. At the age of four, I learned that I made a difference in the lives of my peers,” she said.

Williams, now 24, lives to dispel the myth that special needs youth are one-dimensional and are defined by a perceived handicap. Having cerebral palsy, she knows all about going through life being categorized as different.

But the honors college student will quickly show you that there’s many facets to her life and she’s certainly not limited by a disability.

The gregarious and enterprising young CEO has created a non-profit organization called “Soaring Beyond Our Limits, Inc.” to show that there’s so much more to special needs youth than meets the eye.

The mission at Soaring Beyond Our Limit, Inc. is to encourage and impact the lives of special needs youth in the community by embracing differences, removing barriers, and providing opportunities to create a social support network.

Today, Williams is still making a difference in the lives of others. Each year, Williams holds a showcase with youth who have cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, autism and other challenges. They come together under one roof and show off their talent on the runway and stage. They sing, dance, model and “ham it up” for the audience members, many of whom are in tears from seeing this heavy dose of inspiration on stage. Some of the participants, ages five to 25, ditch their wheelchairs and walkers for the day, while others stroll across the stage –wheelchairs in tow. For the second year in a row, the event will be held at the Raymond F. Kravis Center’s Rinker Playhouse, offering a larger venue for Williams’ showcase. The event takes place this Saturday, April 28 at 4pm.

“I love seeing the children and how their personalities come out when they’re on stage,” said Williams.

Williams says she has received tremendous support each year from family, friends and well-wishers. The participants’ families are very supportive of their children’s courage to get on stage before hundreds. The showcase is the culmination of what Williams had in mind when she formulated the organization.

“Recently, I reflected on my life and I realized that there wasn’t a lot of social support for me as I was growing up. I had my immediate family to talk to me, but I didn’t really have any friends that I could talk to outside of school. I found that I was lonely sometimes. I had a lot of people look at me and based upon my disability say, ‘How did she do this?’ or ‘She’ll never be able to do that.’

Sometimes I found even myself wondering these things about other people. So, I started this organization, Soaring Beyond Our Limits, Inc., with the purpose of getting people to see that we can do it, we can do whatever we set our minds to do! We can soar beyond the limits that we and others have placed upon us! I want this to be the foundation of a community that supports each other as we grow and soar into our future.” Williams has great expectations for this year’s event.

“Our audience should expect it to be great, because many people have never been around special needs persons.”

For more information on “Soaring Beyond Our Limits, Inc,” or the 4th Annual Showcase, please call 561-632-3625 or email: Soaringbeyondourlimits@gmail.com, or visit the website at: www.SoaringBeyondOurLimits.com.