Our Projects
what makes you different is what makes you beautiful
Our Projects
what makes you different is what makes you beautiful
Spark The Conversation
While Happy Soul Project will always be the words & heart of a mother sharing her journey raising 3 children.
Along the way, Tara wanted to give back more.
So, the Happy Soul Project Non-Profit Organization was started & quickly began numerous projects to advocate their main message #DifferentIsBeautiful.
It has now become a worldwide campaign, featured in Billboards across Canada, on the Cover of a national parenting magazine, influencing advertisers like Playtex, Cheerios & Smash + Tess.
Even Britney Spears and Tyler Cameron have shared the message.
Every year a calendar was created that has featured hundreds of kids with disabilities, sharing what they wanted the world to know about them.
That calendar was then used in schools, hospitals, doctors offices & rehabilitation/therapy centres to help spark the conversation about disability.
Happy Soul Project also spread their #DifferentIsBeautiful message when partnered with Smilezone, an organization that creates bright, comforting & engaging spaces for children and their families while spending time in a hospital or medical facility. A full wall mural featuring Happy Soul Project & Pip can be found at the John McGivney Children’s Centre in Windsor, Ontario.
Spark The Conversation
While Happy Soul Project will always be the words & heart of a mother sharing her journey raising 3 children.
Along the way, Tara wanted to give back more.
So, the Happy Soul Project Non-Profit Organization was started & quickly began numerous projects to advocate their main message #DifferentIsBeautiful.
It has now become a worldwide campaign, featured in Billboards across Canada, on the Cover of a national parenting magazine, influencing advertisers like Playtex, Cheerios & Smash + Tess.
Even Britney Spears and Tyler Cameron have shared the message.
Every year a calendar was created that has featured hundreds of kids with disabilities, sharing what they wanted the world to know about them.
That calendar was then used in schools, hospitals, doctors offices & rehabilitation/therapy centres to help spark the conversation about disability.
Happy Soul Project also spread their #DifferentIsBeautiful message when partnered with Smilezone, an organization that creates bright, comforting & engaging spaces for children and their families while spending time in a hospital or medical facility. A full wall mural featuring Happy Soul Project & Pip can be found at the John McGivney Children’s Centre in Windsor, Ontario.
Fight The Good Fight
Despite not loving, public speaking, Tara has found herself in that role as an Advocate.
She has given a Ted Talk, been a Keynote speaker at numerous conferences including the Canadian Down Syndrome Society, Upside Downs New Orleans & The Breakout Project.
She has been on Huffington Post Live, City TV Line, CBC Radio, The Mighty, Love What Matters, numerous news stations & helped create a mini-documentary for AMI about #DifferentIsBeautiful.
Happy Soul Project has even been featured in People, on Good Morning America and the Today Show.
Tara has also found herself in front of numerous Universities giving talks to future Doctors & Teachers, in hope of changing some of what she experienced in hospitals or schools with her daughter Pip, thus far.
Because of her work within schools, and the desire and need for the #DifferentIsBeautiful message to spread, Happy Soul Project University Clubs were created.
Numerous Universities including, Queen’s, University of Toronto, Brock, Wilfred Laurier, Trent and University of Windsor created student based clubs that helped run Elementary school talks, held inclusive playdates, ran programs for children & their siblings with disabilities and even held fundraisers including 12 hr bike-a-thons, skydiving & students & Noal, Tara’s oldest son, shaving their heads to give hair to kids in need.
Happy Soul Project is very active in their local Kingston community working with the City to bring awareness & more inclusion. From getting the city to declare March 21st as World Down syndrome Day, working on policy changes, helping to fundraise for the local Hospital [Kingston Health Sciences Centre], providing Hero Kits to children at Kid’s Inclusive, collaborating with the Rocking Horse to launch a Bubble Parade, partnering with our local OHL Kingston Frontenacs who rocked unique hockey socks & a music program from Hart Studio for many years.
Through the work of Happy Soul Project, Tara was honoured to be a CKWS TV Community Champion & given the City of Kingston Celebrating Accessibility Award in recognition of making a significant contribution beyond legislated requirements, towards improving access for persons with disabilities in Kingston.
Fight The Good Fight
Despite not loving, public speaking, Tara has found herself in that role as an Advocate.
She has given a Ted Talk, been a Keynote speaker at numerous conferences including the Canadian Down Syndrome Society, Upside Downs New Orleans & The Breakout Project.
She has been on Huffington Post Live, City TV Line, CBC Radio, The Mighty, Love What Matters, numerous news stations & helped create a mini-documentary for AMI about #DifferentIsBeautiful.
Happy Soul Project has even been featured in People, on Good Morning America and the Today Show.
Tara has also found herself in front of numerous Universities giving talks to future Doctors & Teachers, in hope of changing some of what she experienced in hospitals or schools with her daughter Pip, thus far.
Because of her work within schools, and the desire and need for the #DifferentIsBeautiful message to spread, Happy Soul Project University Clubs were created.
Numerous Universities including, Queen’s, University of Toronto, Brock, Wilfred Laurier, Trent and University of Windsor created student based clubs that helped run Elementary school talks, held inclusive playdates, ran programs for children & their siblings with disabilities and even held fundraisers including 12 hr bike-a-thons, skydiving & students & Noal, Tara’s oldest son, shaving their heads to give hair to kids in need.
Happy Soul Project is very active in their local Kingston community working with the City to bring awareness & more inclusion. From getting the city to declare March 21st as World Down syndrome Day, working on policy changes, helping to fundraise for the local Hospital [Kingston Health Sciences Centre], providing Hero Kits to children at Kid’s Inclusive, collaborating with the Rocking Horse to launch a Bubble Parade, partnering with our local OHL Kingston Frontenacs who rocked unique hockey socks & a music program from Hart Studio for many years.
Through the work of Happy Soul Project, Tara was honoured to be a CKWS TV Community Champion & given the City of Kingston Celebrating Accessibility Award in recognition of making a significant contribution beyond legislated requirements, towards improving access for persons with disabilities in Kingston.
Paint Outside The Lines
Another great honour & full circle moment for Tara was working closely with the Canadian Down syndrome Society.
Pip was the youngest awarded, “Hero of the Year” & a billboard featuring Tara, Pip and son Noal with their message, “Paint Outside the Lines” was blasted all across the country.
To this day, Tara would say her greatest act of redemption in once grieving her daughter’s Down syndrome diagnosis, is the letter she was asked to write to new parents, that is now included in every single “New Parent Package”, when a Down syndrome diagnosis is given in Canada.
Along those lines, Happy Soul Project created a Down syndrome Facts Book to assist others when teaching about it and also helped launch the Down syndrome Diary, a book to give hope to new parents, which features Tara and 25 other writers from around the world.
Paint Outside The Lines
Another great honour & full circle moment for Tara was working closely with the Canadian Down syndrome Society. Pip was the youngest awarded, “Hero of the Year” & a billboard featuring Tara, Pip and son Noal with their message, “Paint Outside the Lines” was blasted all across the country.
To this day, Tara would say her greatest act of redemption in once grieving her daughter’s Down syndrome diagnosis, is the letter she was asked to write to new parents, that is now included in every single “New Parent Package”, when a Down syndrome diagnosis is given in Canada.
Along those lines, Happy Soul Project created a Down syndrome Facts Book to assist others when teaching about it and also helped launch the Down syndrome Diary, a book to give hope to new parents, which features Tara and 25 other writers from around the world.
Kick-It-Capes
Speaking of the world, another HUGE PROJECT, that was inspired by one little boy and one little cape has reached thousands upon thousands of kids across the globe. Tara’s best friend Laura, also a non-profit Board Member, had a little boy named Maiysn. When he was diagnosed with cancer, Tara living so far away, couldn’t get there to hug him or send love. So, instead she put out on Happy Soul Project a call for help to make a Superhero cape for him.
From that one cape an entire project called Kick-It-Capes began to soar.
They’ve hung on IV poles as kids have gotten chemo treatment, they’ve awaited others receiving a devastating diagnosis. They’ve even, unfortunately, way too many times, laid as a symbol of bravery upon caskets.
From volunteer cape makers, highschool class projects, to communities that have held sewing bees, this project is sadly never-ending as there are always children in need of one.
Happy Soul Project also has numerous hospitals in Canada & the United Kingdom receiving Preemie Kick-It-Capes to outfit their NICU wards.
Kick-It-Capes are more than two pieces of fabric with a superhero logo. They symbolise a child’s bravery, they recognize the courage and strength of not only the child, but the whole family, and they show that friends, family, the community, and complete strangers are rooting for them.
To nominate a child please visit our Kick-It-Capes Facebook Page.
Kick-It-Capes
Speaking of the world, another HUGE PROJECT, that was inspired by one little boy and one little cape has reached thousands upon thousands of kids across the globe. Tara’s best friend Laura, also a non-profit Board Member, had a little boy named Maiysn. When he was diagnosed with cancer, Tara living so far away, couldn’t get there to hug him or send love. So, instead she put out on Happy Soul Project a call for help to make a Superhero cape for him.
From that one cape an entire project called Kick-It-Capes began to soar.
They’ve hung on IV poles as kids have gotten chemo treatment, they’ve awaited others receiving a devastating diagnosis. They’ve even, unfortunately, way too many times, laid as a symbol of bravery upon caskets.
From volunteer cape makers, highschool class projects, to communities that have held sewing bees, this project is sadly never-ending as there are always children in need of one.
Happy Soul Project also has numerous hospitals in Canada & the United Kingdom receiving Preemie Kick-It-Capes to outfit their NICU wards.
Kick-It-Capes are more than two pieces of fabric with a superhero logo. They symbolise a child’s bravery, they recognize the courage and strength of not only the child, but the whole family, and they show that friends, family, the community, and complete strangers are rooting for them.
To nominate a child please visit our Kick-It-Capes Facebook Page.
Pip’s Army
And then of course along the way, a community rose that is lovingly named #PipsArmy.
They are what make our projects work.
They are who hopefully stand up for what we preach.
They are YOU.
And we thank you for being a part of all this.
Throughout the many Projects we strive to show representation matters, spark the
conversation that change is needed and of course celebrate that different is indeed beautiful.
Pip’s Army
And then of course along the way, a community rose that is lovingly named #PipsArmy.
They are what make our projects work.
They are who hopefully stand up for what we preach.
They are YOU.
And we thank you for being a part of all this.
Throughout the many Projects we strive to show representation matters, spark the conversation that change is needed and of course celebrate that different is indeed beautiful.
