Welcome to the inaugural issue of The Spark, where the Glimmer team will highlight some of the inspiring stories we come across in our day to day reading, and we detail some of the happenings on the Glimmer website. We'll be publishing several times a week, so stay tuned to our site and Facebook page for updates. Have a news tip? Let us know.

First up is this inspiring story of Caleb Freeman, who was recently crowned his high school's homecoming king. It's all the more impressive given that Caleb suffered a traumatic brain injury two years ago in a car accident, a setback so debilitating that his parents didn't think he'd ever walk again. Caleb had been a track star prior to his accident but had to learn to walk all over again in the wake of his accident. Just recently he completed a 5k with his track team. Way to go Caleb!

We also loved this story of 23-year-old Grace Strobel, a model who was born with downs syndrome but who hasn't let her challenges get in the way of her dreams. Grace's parents recount how when she was born, a genetic counselor told them everything that Grace wouldn't be able to do in life because of her downs syndrome. But her parents, and later Grace, took that consignment to be a challenge. After becoming a speaker to schools and community groups, Grace set out to become a model, with aspirations to one day work a runway in New York.

We know that each one of us has an inspiring story like Caleb's and Grace's just waiting to be told, and that's why we started Glimmer — to give people a place where they could communicate and share their stories.

We'd like to welcome our new members and encourage you to tell you friends and family about Glimmer. We're working to build a community here where folks with disabilities can meet one another, make friendships and share experiences. Plus registration on Glimmer is free, so please spread the word!

If you’d like to receive The Spark right in your inbox, click here to sign up.

— Geoff Anderson
Co-founder of Glimmer