Green Bay Packer’s QB Aaron Rodgers has been vague about the extent of his fractured collarbone, except to say it’s a “difficult injury.” Wishful thinkers claim that he’ll be back in three weeks but reports have Rodgers out for an undetermined period of time. And although, Rodgers’ injury may affect the team’s playoff chances, in this video he makes an entirely different sort of impact on a special fan.
13 yr old Kelly was always singing around the house so it made sense to her when Independence First, a group which works with kids with disabilities told her they wanted her to lend her voice to a commercial they were producing. Independence First is a non-profit organization that is run by and for the benefit of people who have disabilities, primarily serving the four county metropolitan Milwaukee area. They offer a wide variety of services, resources and information for people who have disabilities as well as their families and communities.
Independence first was chosen by a local law firm, Gruber Law Offices to meet Aaron Rodgers and participate in the #itsAaron program. The itsAaron.com program was created by Aaron Rodgers and David Gruber to create awareness for organizations and people who make a difference in the world through the work of non-profit organizations in Wisconsin.
And who better to represent Independence First, than Kelly. She is a performer, she loves music and she loves the Green Bay Packers.
Kelly has Spina Bifida, a birth defect which occurs when the bones of the spine (vertebrae) do not form properly around part of the baby’s spinal cord. It can affect how the skin on the back looks. In some cases, it can make walking or daily activities hard to do without help. The disease can be mild or severe and effects each person in varying degrees.
While she was at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin preparing for the group’s commercial, she unexpectedly got to meet a hero of hers.
Kelly talked with Rodgers about how her disability doesn’t limit her and what Independence First has done to help her by participating in activities she would otherwise not be able to do like tennis, water-skiing, and skiing.
Of her disability Kelly says,“It doesn’t really get in my way, I just do what I have to do”
Together, in the video, Rodgers and Kelly write and perform an original piece they create together by listening to music with their eyes closed and talking about what the melody made them think of.
Rodgers tells a blushing and giggly Kelly that she is very talented, and she is.
