--- title: Disability Pride description: Mary Frances Layden, a disability advocate, scholar, and Co-Founder of love♡bili♡nyc, speaks of the importance of raising disability awareness. image: https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Emma_Mary_Shirts.jpg --- Toggle navigation ![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icons-mobile-menu.png) [![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/LOGO_ALTSO_White.png)](https://www.altso.org/) ![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icons-close.png) - [Who We Are.](https://www.altso.org/) - [Why Mobility?](https://www.altso.org/whymobility) - [Our Work.](https://www.altso.org/ourwork) - [CoolKid Stories.](https://www.altso.org/coolkids) - [Take Action.](https://www.altso.org/takeaction) - [CoolKids Club.](https://www.altso.org/ckc) - [Rocktoberfest.](https://www.altso.org/rocktoberfest) - [The Community Blog.](https://thecommunity.altso.org/) - [Donate.](https://www.altso.org/donate) - [![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icons-facebook.png)](https://www.facebook.com/alegtostandon) - [![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icons-instagram.png)](http://instagram.com/alegtostandon) - [![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icons-linkedin.png)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/a-leg-to-stand-on) - [![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icons-twitter.png)](https://twitter.com/ALegToStandOn) - [![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icon-vimeo.png)](https://vimeo.com/user8076691) The Community. ![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Emma_Mary_Shirts.jpg) ###### September 15, 2020 # Disability Pride Author: Mary Frances Layden My older sister and I started[love♡bili♡nyc](https://www.lovebilinyc.com/) back in 2016. As two young women with physical disabilities, we wanted to find a way to show others the strength and pride of the disability community. **We started by creating designs that represent the breadth and** **diversity of disabilities, while also highlighting their beauty.** Oftentimes images of disability are viewed through a medical lens and we wanted to change that. Like with our Brain and Rib Cage designs, we are expressing that all bodies and brains, all disabilities, visible and invisible, are beautiful and loved.    ![Two ♡bili shirts folded next to each other. The shirt on the left is black with a red brain design made of hearts. The shirt on the right is white with a black ribcage design made of hearts](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Brain_Rib_Shirts.jpeg?width=2337&name=Brain_Rib_Shirts.jpeg)   We have a history with ALTSO, given my previous working for the organization, as well being continued supporters and honorary members of the ALTSO family. We deeply believe in its mission to help children with disabilities gain access to self-esteem, education, and work through free orthopedic care. Providing orthopedic devices allows  CoolKids to live independently, something that is often not associated with disability. With prosthetics like the Joshi, children are able to attend school, socialize with their friends, take part in their community, and ultimately take pride in their disabilities. As disabled women, we know how critical inclusion, independence, and pride is, which is why we are passionate about ALTSO’s work. We decided to donate the proceeds of our Wheelchair and Sticks shirts to ALTSO’s Covid-19 Reopening Fund, given the importance of access to Personal Protective Equipment and health care, especially for disabled individuals, who have been disproportionately impacted by the current pandemic. **Even during these uncertain and s****cary times, we remain dedicated to amplifying disabled voices and ensuring we receive quality care and access.**   ![ (left) A black ♡bili shirt with white wheelchair design; (right) A white ♡bili shirt with black walking sticks design ](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Untitled%20design%20(2).png?width=1920&name=Untitled%20design%20(2).png)   ### Mary Frances Layden Mary Frances Layden is a disability advocate, scholar, and Co-Founder of love♡bili♡nyc , a NYC-based apparel company that works to showcase the pride of disabled people through design. [← Back to posts](https://thecommunity.altso.org) ### Recent Posts. ### Categories. - [Our Impact: CoolKid Stories (46)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/our-impact-coolkid-stories) - [Rocktoberfest (24)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/rocktoberfest) - [Press Releases (19)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/press-releases) - [Program Updates (19)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/program-updates) - [Meet ALTSO (11)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/meet-altso) - [NextGen Club (9)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/nextgen-club) - [ALTSO Ambassadors (6)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/altso-ambassadors) - [Fundraisers & Events (6)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/fundraisers-events) - [Partnerships (4)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/partnerships) - [ALTSO UK (1)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/altso-uk) [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/6749729/c00edccc-f8e9-4eca-9e2a-f833082df776.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/6749729/c00edccc-f8e9-4eca-9e2a-f833082df776) [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/6749729/18f7dbf7-96d9-4b3d-8765-15c37c83997a.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/6749729/18f7dbf7-96d9-4b3d-8765-15c37c83997a) A Leg To Stand On, Inc. is a US Based 501(C)3 EIN 02-0594709 & UK Based Charity 1118048 ©2026 - - - - [About us.](https://www.altso.org/aboutus) [Financials.](https://www.altso.org/financials) [Brand Partners.](https://www.altso.org/partner) [Videos.](https://vimeo.com/user8076691) [The Community Blog.](https://thecommunity.altso.org/) [Privacy.](https://www.altso.org/aboutus#privacypolicy) [Get our emails.](https://www.altso.org/getouremails) [Contact us.](https://www.altso.org/contactus) [Donate.](https://www.altso.org/donate) ## [View our Accreditations](https://www.altso.org/aboutus#accreditations) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Mary Frances Layden", "url" : "https://thecommunity.altso.org/author/mary-frances-layden" }, "dateModified" : "2021-03-25T20:06:10.584Z", "datePublished" : "2020-09-15T12:30:00.000Z", "headline" : "Disability Pride", "image" : [ "https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Emma_Mary_Shirts.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://thecommunity.altso.org/mary-layden", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" }, "name" : "A Leg To Stand On" } } ```