Powerful People Making a Difference!

Last week we had our Women Empowering Woman group and had Celeste Cecchetti as our speaker. We all had a great discussion and learned a lot from each other.  Below is a recap of some of the takeaways we all learned.

Be kind to yourself

Celeste shared about mistakes we may make as parents. We can be our own worst critics and often come down hard on ourselves for even the most minor things. Celeste shared about the hills and valleys we all may experience raising our children.  One of the most important things she does is to get up the next morning and start a new day. You can’t dwell on what you could, should, or wished you had done. You have to start new, clear the slate, and keep moving forward; even if it means taking the smallest of steps.

Community is key

Celeste is a strong believer in inclusion. She advocated for her son Sean, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome, to be included in everything she could. She said the most important thing was not the academics but the social contact and developing an understanding of the skills he would need to enter the world after graduation from high school. Celeste established the Wall Township Challenger program in order to get kids in her community volunteering and spending time with her son and other kids with special needs. She recommended that all of us work hard to get kids to befriend our children at an early age and to never to give up trying to get them included no matter how old they are. This has been the biggest contributing factor to Sean having friends and being a strong part of his community at the age of 33.

Network and build relationships

Celeste has always had a strong network of friends and supporters. She was not afraid to ask for their help. Her son Sean had dreams of being involved in athletics. Celeste reached out to people that knew coaches at Monmouth University.  Sean now volunteers for Monmouth's football and  women’s basketball teams.  He is also an honorary member at the South Wall Fire Department. She told our group that she and Sean are constantly looking for opportunities and trying to open doors. The connections they work to make in their community have been a huge part of their success.

Finally, like many parents, Celeste became an entrepreneur and helped her sister to open a store called  “It’s Good/Just Breezin” which is a Life is Good store in Spring Lake, NJ.  Sean works at this store and has learned a lot about employment skills needed for the workforce. Sean and his family have worked very hard, to not only find opportunities, but to make them through running their own store.

Thank you to Celeste for your time and sharing some very practical ways, to not only succeed in your own life, but help your child to succeed in theirs. Share below what you have done