(November, 1, 2024) - Since 2020, the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) and Voya Cares® have collaborated to provide financial support to entrepreneurs with Down syndrome, allowing them to create or expand their businesses. The NDSS and Voya Cares Entrepreneur Grant celebrates both Down Syndrome Awareness Month and National Disability Employment Awareness Month and elevates the national conversation about the need for greater employment opportunities for people with Down syndrome and other disabilities. Throughout the four-year relationship, NDSS and Voya Cares have provided more than $100,000 to eight entrepreneurs.
This October, NDSS and Voya Cares are providing two $10,000 grants to entrepreneurs with Down syndrome who were chosen from a pool of 15 applicants based on their business plans, goals, and the impact they provide to the Down syndrome and disability communities. The 2024 grant recipients are Blake Edwards of the Blake Edwards Art Academy (state/location) and Hunter Norwood of A Little Something Extra Ice Cream (state/location).
“Through our collaboration, we are dedicated to empowering adults with Down syndrome nationwide,” said NDSS President and CEO Kandi Pickard. “Voya Cares is making a significant contribution with these grants by uplifting entrepreneurs with Down syndrome and showcasing the vital role that these businesses play in advancing disability-inclusive employment.”
Blake Edwards, one of the two recipients of the grant this year, is fueled by a deep passion for the arts. Her vision is to create a space where children aged 4 to 7 of all abilities can express themselves through movement, dance, painting, and theater. After winning the Miss Abilities Chesapeake Pageant in 2015, Blake’s confidence grew, and her love for performing blossomed. Her family recognized the joy and fulfillment the arts brought to her life, which led to the idea of creating a business that fosters creativity, promotes wellness, and enhances social skills. Inspired by her personal experiences of overcoming challenges, particularly in dance and cheerleading, Blake will use the grant to establish the Blake Edwards Arts Academy in Chesapeake, Virginia. The academy will not only aim to provide a valuable service but also to reinvest profits back into the community to create a lasting impact.
A Little Something Extra Ice Cream was created in Dawson, Alabama, as a job opportunity for Hunter Norwood, the second recipient of the grant, and as a mobile training platform for individuals with disabilities. Initially a part-time venture on holidays and weekends, the business quickly expanded into a full-time operation traveling across Alabama to serve private events at businesses, schools, and churches. The business has secured contracts with the University of Alabama and Auburn University to sell novelty ice cream at home games, allowing Hunter and the team to enjoy the vibrant college atmosphere. Hunter plans to use his funds to expand his reach to purchase a new ice cream truck.
“Many are surprised at the large and flourishing community of entrepreneurs who have a disability. One important reason this community continues to grow is the unemployment rate for persons with a disability, which was 7.2% in 2023, about twice as high as the rate for people without disabilities at 3.5%,” said Kathie Tarpey, AVP of the Voya Cares program at Voya Financial.1
“Business founders with disabilities often start businesses out of necessity to reduce or eliminate barriers in the workplace.2 But we know that individuals with Down syndrome are revolutionizing the small business community by showcasing their passion and creativity,” she added.
To learn more about the grant and Voya’s collaboration with NDSS, visit ndss.org/ndss-voya-entrepreneur-grant.
1. Persons with a disability: Labor force characteristics – 2023. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Feb. 22, 2024.
2. Rosenblum, David and Christopher McLaren. Business Ownership, Self-Employment and Entrepreneurship Among People with Disabilities. U.S. Department of Labor Blog. May 14, 2024.
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About Voya Financial®
Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA) is a leading health, wealth and investment company with approximately 9,000 employees who are focused on achieving Voya’s aspirational vision: “Clearing your path to financial confidence and a more fulfilling life.” Through products, solutions and technologies, Voya helps its 15.2 million individual, workplace and institutional clients become well planned, well invested and well protected. Benefitfocus, a Voya company and a leading benefits administration provider, extends the reach of Voya’s workplace benefits and savings offerings by engaging directly with more than 12 million employees in the U.S. Certified as a “Great Place to Work” by the Great Place to Work® Institute, Voya is purpose-driven and committed to conducting business in a way that is economically, ethically, socially and environmentally responsible. Voya has earned recognition as: one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere; a member of the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index; and a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” on the Disability Equality Index. For more information, visit voya.com. Follow Voya Financial on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Media Contacts:
Natasha Smith
Voya Financial
(212) 309-8200
Michelle Sagan
National Down Syndrome Society
(301) 728-0447
media@ndss.org