Meet Jessi!

Meet Jessi! Jessi is a positive force in our local community, whether it’s giving talks at local schools on behalf of her nonprofit organization, You Got the Power, coaching therapeutic baseball, caring for her pets, or just expressing gratitude for the people in her life who have supported her along the way.

Jessi wants to help people understand that people with disabilities have good and bad days just like everyone else. This is a key part of the You Got the Power mission that she shares with local schools and businesses. Another aspect of that message is a subject near and dear to her heart: bullying. “We’re all different in some way,” she explains. “Bullying is dangerous.”

Jessi started You Got The POWER after a long stay in the hospital a few years ago, and knew right away that a sock monkey would make the perfect mascot. A friend brought her a hand sewn sock monkey that get lost in the hospital’s laundry system. Jessi and her mom dreamed up wild stories about where his journey might have taken him, which helped to make the stay a little more fun. Nowadays, Jessi is rarely found without one of her sock monkey friends in hand. The Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities supports Jessi by helping to coordinate transportation to and from her speaking engagements and appointments, as well as many other services her support coordinator helps to manage.

Keep up the great work, Jessi!

This story is a part of a series of Spotlight Stories we’re posting here on our website and also on our Facebook page, our LinkedIn page and our Instagram account. The Spotlight Stories introduce you to some of the people we support: you can learn more about their every day lives and their successes, as well as learn about the services our Board offers. Check out the other Spotlight Stories here.