By Hannah Barnes, Communication Specialist

Meg (top right) in a Dayton’s advertisement as a child

Every community needs someone who brings people together. At Vicksburg, that person is Meg. Meg moved in to her apartment in January 2018. She has acclimated quickly to her new community in that short amount of time and is now thriving.

Meg is a social butterfly. She is someone who enjoys always being busy. Not only does she participate in five Special Olympics sports, she also creates her own art and has a job, too. These things all help her live a full life.

In addition to her sports and painting, one of Meg’s favorite things to do is looming. She has done this since high school. She makes fun items such as scarves and bottle cozies. Meg even sells the cozies at a local store called Love that Olive in Maple Grove! She gives back to the community by donating the scarves to charities and fundraisers. Some scarves are also handed out to the homeless population in the Minneapolis area.

Inclusion is important to Meg, and she loves to know that she is everyone’s friend. She is great at getting other individuals who may not be as outgoing, to join her in activities. She does this in several ways, from inviting them to bowling, which creates friendly competition, or just asking if they’d like to tag along to a Hammer activity that she is attending.

“You can see that she gets people excited about activities. She is genuinely excited about everything. It makes you excited about stuff too. It’s a fun energy to have at Vicksburg,” Program Manager, Abby Baggenstoss, said.

One of Meg’s favorite things to do is host parties. Any time there is an occasion, such as a birthday or award, she is the first to suggest that there should be a celebration. In addition, she likes to host bingo parties, where she will give the scarves she makes away as a prize for the winners.

“Meg has a great outlook on life and loves to see other people happy and engaged. It brings her a lot of joy,” Abby said.

One day, Meg hopes to be famous. When she was a child, she was a model for Dayton’s. She enjoyed this opportunity and hopes to someday have the chance to appear on live TV! Meg thinks it would be fun to give others a peak into her full, daily life.

Although she hasn’t yet found the spotlight on national television, she is still a bright light at Hammer who brings everyone together.