March 24, 2021

E32 InvisiYouth Chat Sessions with wheelchair ballerina, model, philanthropist and creator of Kate Stanforth Academy of Dance, Kate Stanforth

1 hour 13 minutes

Being just as elegant and passionate on the dance floor as she is in her philanthropy and activism, our video podcast guest is an unbelievable talent. Founder of the UK nonprofit Project Parent, wheelchair ballerina, model and disability activist, Kate Stanforth. Living with ME and other chronic illnesses, Kate had to adapt to make her life accessible, especially when she began needing a wheelchair. Her chronic illness journey helped her create Project Parent in 2014, delivering over 1,500 holiday gifts to parents with children in hospital. And this year, she launched Kate Stanforth Academy of Dance by fusing her past experience as a classical dancer and now teaching wheelchair dance with inclusive classes and its first set of classes SOLD OUT. In this episode, Dominique and Kate give their hot takes on hot button topics like TikTok and the social media like buttons in our “Life Tinder Challenge” segment, and you’ll be surprised at some of their answers. And the ladies dive deep into their conversation on philanthropy, getting into volunteering, and what makes running a nonprofit so different from a business. They have ideas of boosting your virtual volunteer opportunities and how your hobbies can be a key to fundraising for many nonprofits like Project Parent and InvisiYouth. We get to our intermission, halfway point of the podcast when Kate tells a life story that’s about two things: Kate’s loveable assistance dog Spencer and his fascination with walking up to a particular group of people when they got out. And in the second half of the episode, Kate talks about dance, wheelchair dance styles, how she was able to take a passion “pre-chronic illness life” of dancing and bring it full circle AND adapt it to fit into her new way of life. We get major details about why we all can use a bit of dance in our lives, and how using virtual connection can get up out of our comfort zones to try new things. Plus, our final segment of this episode is a masterclass on activism, fighting off haters, tackling disability hate and the ways you can get support for those negative situations and comments, and the top two things Kate and Dominique suggest you do to build more independence in your life when you need support. This is the BEST piece of advice for our older youth, so take note! Please like, comment, subscribe and share this episode, follow Kate @katestanforth, her nonprofit @projectparent and her dance academy @katestanforthdance to get access to her amazing work, thank you to our charitable sponsor Tandem Podcasts for partnering for this episode, and please support InvisiYouth Charity by donating, following and joining our programs and community @invisiyouth!

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