This is one mom's inspiring story of how she has taken the difficult road as a special needs parent and turned it into her heart's journey...

Owner and Chicago-based mompreneur, Genesis Emery, is an inspiration to mothers everywhere and I jumped at the chance to partner with her. This is a company full of heart and soul because it was born of one mom’s desire to create a meaningful product for kids.

My mommy heart went out to this brave mom when I heard her story. Being a parent is hard. It’s by far the hardest thing I have ever done and hearing stories like this inspire me and others to be the best parents we can be. I can only imagine the stamina and endurance you need to get through the trials of a NICU stay or the grueling process of understanding and treating childhood disease. This mom is doing it with style and grace- all while giving back to the community.

What makes this company so special?

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Genesis and her son, Noah, had a rough time at the beginning of his life. Baby Noah spent the first two months of his life (including his first Christmas) in the NICU at Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital. He was subsequently diagnosed with Rubenstein-Taybi syndrome. It is a rare developmental and genetic disease that appears in various ways: moderate to severe learning disabilities, muscle/bone issues throughout the body such as low bone growth and difficulty with the growth of the fingers and toes are just a few of the ways it can appear.

One of the most difficult aspects of this disease is that it can affect children in myriad ways and it can be a waiting game to figure out how severe (or not severe) the complications will be for the child’s life. Today, Noah is about to turn three and his mom reports that he is thriving, but he will always have to manage complications from this disease.

When this brave mama learned that her sweet son was facing an uphill battle, she decided that if her business was going to be successful, it had to have one powerful ingredient: it had to help others. After going through the initial complications of his life, Genesis was more committed than ever to creating a company that GIVES back.

The “giving back” part of this mom-owned business is honestly AMAZING. Working with foundations like The March of Dimes, Shriners Hospitals for Children, and the Pujols Family Foundation, The Little Dapper Collection is literally changing lives one bow tie at a time.

On a side note, I connected with Genesis when she was in New York City specifically to launch her newest collection and hand out “Little Hero Bears” at children’s agencies around town. Every aspect of her work involves giving back.

As my own son, Charlie, approaches three years old I’m learning that he wants to wear only what he chooses. I guess we are nearing that dreaded “threenager” phase. This usually involves Spiderman shirts and sweaters with trucks and footballs. However, when I dressed him in his darling bow tie he happily posed and acted like a real dapper gentleman. He definitely knew he was wearing something special. The look and feel of these items make it a perfect gift. I showed it to him in the gift box each tie arrives in and he knew it was something awesome!

You know that saying: “When you buy a product from a small business an actual person does a happy dance?” Head over to The Little Dapper Collection and be the source of lots of happy dances!