02/13/2023
Let’s introduce our Founder and President - Breann Gibson. Her passion for helping others has never been in short supply. Here is her story:
“The very moment in November of 2021 when I shared the heartbreaking news of what our sweet Porter was enduring, there was no short supply of love and support that exploded out of what is Porter’s Posse. We know that the amount of support we continue to receive is not typical for everyone, but we want to provide that to more families like ours. It has always weighed heavy on me trying to figure out how I was ever going to be able to give back to the greatest group of people I have ever known. The outpouring of love and support that came so selflessly from each and every one of them was like nothing I had ever seen before. I have always felt like our simple heartfelt “thank you’s” would never truly be enough, we needed to do something bigger to SHOW how much we appreciate every single thing to this very day. Actions will always speak louder than words right?
During my soul searching of trying to figure out how I was ever going to give back and do something good in honor of Porter and her Posse, early in 2022 I had thrown around the idea of starting a nonprofit for children battling rare diagnoses. When I first started looking into it, it seemed so overwhelming and I had no idea how I would accomplish getting it started. The thought never left my mind. In the beginning of November of 2022, right before Porter’s relapse, for the first time I finally spoke out loud my dreams and aspirations to start a nonprofit to my sister-in-law, Alyssa and that girl… man that girl. She didn't hesitate for a second and jumped in with both feet to be my solid support to make this a reality. She encouraged every step, beaming with excitement of how great this will be for so many. That is when Hear Us Roar was born. 🦖
I remember wishing there were more resources for us while navigating Porter’s rare diagnosis, especially in the beginning. I can remember all of the raw feelings there were when wishing there were more resources for us, wishing there was a network I could have reached out to, truly just wishing to find people who could truly understand what we were going through. I remember feeling scared, angry, nervous, heartbroken, helpless, you name it, I felt it. That’s the thing though, how could there be more resources on something that many don’t even know exists. We want to be able to support families in their time of need, we want to bring awareness to as many rare diagnoses as we can. We need them to know they are not alone. When they are in the trenches we want to be that beacon of light to lead the way out of those trenches. If there is ever a time the trench is too deep and they can’t see the light, we will sit in the dark with them. No one needs to navigate these types of diagnoses alone. We want to be their “Porter’s Posse”. I have always felt my calling in life was to help people, to be their voice when they felt they didn’t have one. To advocate you have to sometimes be able to roar to be heard. Sometimes people just need a little help to find their roar and until they can I’m more than happy to be their roar. We want to help them learn to roar again. 🦖”
If you know someone who’s child is battling a rare diagnosis, and could use some extra support please send them our way!
https://www.hearusroar-ia.org
