Justine Green was born with Microtia and Atresia. Microtia is a condition where the outer ear does not develop properly and Atresia is the absence of the ear canal. Justine is deaf in her left ear. Her personal experience provided the inspiration behind her children’s book Completely Me.
Completely Me is a powerful story about a little girl who never noticed there was something different about herself, until others pointed it out instead. When she stands up for herself, the people around her learn the important lesson of self-acceptance, that everyone is different in their own unique ways, and that those imperfections are what make you perfect. Special Olympics Young Athletes was lucky enough to receive a donation of 1,000 copies of Completely Me.
“I want to help children with disabilities understand that others impose disability on them and they shouldn’t let that happen. They are not “missing” anything. They are capable of doing great things and their imperfections make them perfect.”
When asked why Justine choose to donate so many copies of her book this is what she shared, “I want to help children with disabilities understand that others impose disability on them and they shouldn’t let that happen. They are not “missing” anything. They are capable of doing great things and their imperfections make them perfect.”
This generous donation is being used towards the creation and distribution of Young Athletes’ “YA Backpack”. Each backpack is filled with resources such as Family Flashcards, a mini set of equipment in order to do Young Athletes programming at home, health resources, and picture books on inclusion and empathy including Completely Me. Young Athletes participants, aged 2 – 7, from the Special Olympics North America Region will be receiving the “YA Backpack”.
However, that is not where Justine stopped her Special Olympics engagement, she also asked to be connected with Special Olympics Florida, where she resides, in order to stay in touch about volunteer opportunities. Her efforts to help children with disabilities feel included is vital and Young Athletes is the perfect avenue to share this message with children and families. We thank Justine for her donation, her passion for inclusion, and most importantly her strength to tell her story.
Dr. Justine Green is currently the Principal of Tamim Academy in Boca Raton, FL where she resides with her husband and two children. She was recently named a Social Impact Hero by Authority Magazine and participated in a NASA conference on Diversity and Inclusion for the Future. Her book, Completely Me, is currently nominated for 22 awards including the Benjamin Franklin Award and the Northern Lights Book Awards.
