There is a shoe store I know with a special policy. The owner told me that whenever a child with special needs comes into his store, that child gets cared for first. In fact, he told me that this policy started on one very busy day. It was before schools started and the store was packed with customers. He noticed a woman with children who had special needs waiting for service. She looked tired and sad. He said, “Why don’t you come over here and let me help you now so you don’t have to wait?” The woman replied that she had just waited two hours in a nearby shoe store and when it was her turn, the salesperson was so impatient he said to her children, “I’m sorry I just don’t have time for this” and went to help another customer. “From that time on I decided I would always help children with special needs who were in my store and they would go right to the front of the line.”

This same fine individual heard that I needed a ride for my son to school each day. My son is a ninth grader in a special needs program. Although I know that this family does not typically carpool, when they heard a student with special needs needed a ride, they grabbed the opportunity. No doubt this has sent a strong message to their children that “we as a family will go out of our way to make room for someone who might need an extra lift.”

Thank you for Making Some Room for my son and for all those special kids who come to your store.