The ME Mission

Update: 
Years ago we created The ME Mission

We did this because ME did not qualify for services and we were denied much needed care. Our hope was that through our coffee company, and cafe, we could create our own programming and therapies to help ME. 

During that process so many other families reached out to us begging us for help. They too were unable to get their children with disabilities the services they needed. That was when we realized our small family business could not help with that need and DGBF was founded to serve the families who needed help. That foundation never got off the ground due to ME’s illness and her fight for her life. So the business and our foundation were both closed. 

We have decided to focus our energy on ME, her journey, and her fight for the services and care she so desperately needed. We believe her journey will help others, as we tell her story. 
Welcome to The ME Mission 



Update: Due to ME’s illness, DGBF was closed for now. We have not determined if and when we would start up again, as we work to help ME reach her fullest potential. 

There are so many needs in the disabilities community that could have been supported by this effort, and we hope one day we are able to effectively address those needs again. 

Dreamers Gives Back Foundation is a non profit 501c3 charity.

DGBF was formed to offer the Memphis community and beyond support and resources.

To learn more about DGBF go to www.dreamersgivesbackfoundation.org

Background on the Founder:

I am Diane, wife to John, and  mom to 5 beautiful children.

My youngest, MaryEllen, affectionately called ME by many, has Down syndrome.

Her birth brought me into the most amazing company of strangers who are now many of my very best friends.

I began blogging after her birth as a way to help my family keep up with us.

When ME had open heart it was a wonderful way for them to stay up to date.

I continued as a way to share my journey with others.

This blog led to many people contacting me and in 2008, I founded the International Down Syndrome Coalition, to offer support to families who were new to the Down syndrome diagnosis, and connect them to local support.

In 2014, I stepped away from advocacy, and the IDSC, to take a deep breath, and get back to some of the things I used to love doing.

I am also an individual who is severely deaf, which has had its own set of challenges through the years. However, that does not stop me from living out my dreams!

In 2015, I opened Dreamers Coffee which very quickly became Dreamers Merchants-Coffee Company!

Our plan was to open a coffee house so that we could employ individuals of all abilities to show the world that every person deserves the dignity that jobs innately bring each and every single one of us, including individuals with a disablity! It is said that only 20% of individuals with an intellectual disablity are employed. We wanted to bring attention to that abysmal rate and see if we could help it along.

Along the way, so many people wanted to sell Dreamers Coffee that we opened a coffee company instead!

We opened Dream Big Cafe on March 21, 2019, World Down Syndrome Day, located in the clubhouse of  Vantage Point Golf Center in Cordova, TN.

Along with this we have 27 online stores with store owners in 13 states nationally and growing. We offer support and training on how to become and entrepreneur so families can grow their own businesses, and along with us, hire individuals of all abilities.

For more information on how you can be a Dreamer check out our FAQ page on our store site!

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