My friend Richard Kligman has created a product with a very human and social need... his own son is a special needs child and his sons situation motivated dad to create a solution. Richard did just that, and has found a way to produce it for both people with special needs, such as his son, and for people without special needs.. watch the video... and then read below in Richard's own words, and if you can, support his project with any amount possible.....
I never really thought of myself as a “Special Needs” Dad. I mean sure my son Moishy is technically special needs since he lost oxygen at birth and has cerebral palsy and is in a wheel chair most of his day, but I just don’t see him as special needs. I see him as just one of my 6 amazing children. But now, because of a fashion line I just launched, I am a special needs Dad. It started a little more than a year ago when I saw my son, who is almost 11, come home from school wearing a bib and I just felt that didn’t look right. An 11 year old kid should not be wearing a bib. Moishy has low muscle tone in his face and that causes him to drool, hence the bib. So I did a thorough search looking for a shirt that was:
- Absorbent
- Quick Dry
- Anti-Bacterial
- Anti-Odor
- And super comfortable to wear all day long
And it didn't exist. So being an entrepreneurial type of guy I decided to create it. I searched for sample materials that fit what I needed and had many samples sent to me. I found the materials I wanted to work with, it was a bamboo/organic cotton blend. So I hired a fashion designer to help bring my vision to reality. And now after many long months and hundreds of hours of work and thousands of dollars I am finally ready to launch. The name of the Fashion Line is “Mianzi”. Miazni means “bamboo” in Swahili and I loved the sound of the name, but it wasn’t till recently when I found out that Mianzi also means “A Face of Dignity and Prestige” in Chinese. Since our fabric comes from China and is made from bamboo this became the perfect name. I have been in the Hi-Tech Start-Up world for many years now and have built my reputation through hard work and determination. But I never promoted myself as a Father of a special needs boy, because I just did not see myself as that and it was never relevant. It’s just a bit weird for me, not something I was exactly ready for. Not that I ever tried to hide him (he is a cute kid) or hide behind him, but it’s a bit weird to bring this out into the open and say “Hi, my son is special needs, can you help us?”. But that is exactly what I’m doing and do you know why? Because he is worth it.
Please help us by making a pledge and getting the word out by visiting: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kligman/shirts-to-drool-over-literally
------------------------------------------------------ Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel ------------------------------------------------------