The local girl whose spirit and determination have earned her international acclaim was recently honored by her hometown YMCA for her contributions to the local community.
Karrie Brown, 17, of Collinsville, received the Youth of the Year Award from the Collinsville, Maryville, Troy YMCA on Oct. 12 in recognition for her contributions to the community and the YMCA. The nomination form for the award noted that “there is no challenge or obstacle that Karrie can’t overcome.” It is an apt description for the willpower that has helped turn Brown from an aspiring model to the inspiring subject of news stories around the world.
Southwestern Illinois YMCA Youth of the Year honorees. Karrie Brown is in the front row, on the right / Photo courtesy of Southwestern Illinois YMCA
Doctors told Sue Brown that her newborn daughter would never walk without assistance, if she survived. They also told Brown that, because Karrie has Down Syndrome, she should not expect her daughter to accomplish much in life. Mother and daughter have been proving doubters wrong ever since.
Autism, Down Syndrome nor Epilepsy have stopped Karrie from being named the 2012 Kohl’s Cares Scholarship winner for Collinsville, competing in the 2013 Illinois Miss Amazing Pageant, being on the honor roll at Collinsville High School, volunteering at the YMCA or realizing her dream of becoming a fashion model.
Karrie’s path to becoming a model for Wet Seal, her favorite brand of clothing, is a story that has been told many times. A family friend started a Facebook page at 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 13 devoted to helping Karrie become a Wet Seal model. By noon the following day, someone from Wet Seal had contacted Brown. If Karrie’s page received 10,000 “likes” by Aug. 16, they would have a surprise for her. The page eclipsed 11,000 “likes” by noon on Aug. 15. There are currently more than 27,000 fans of Karrie Brown – Modeling the Future.
The people at Wet Seal made good on their promise of a surprise, flying Brown and Karrie to their corporate headquarters near Los Angeles for a photo shoot. In addition to hotel, airfare and rental car, the company paid for a trip to Disneyland and a Wet Seal shopping spree for Karrie. Because the Browns could not carry all of Karrie’s new clothes home on the plane, Wet Seal paid to have them shipped to Collinsville.
The news of Karrie’s Facebook fame and Wet Seal photo shoot first swept the St. Louis area, then spread around the world. Stories have appeared in newspapers across the U.S., in Europe, Asia and South America about the Collinsville girl who does not let Down Syndrome stop her.
But the CMT YMCA’s nomination form for Karrie to be their Youth of the Year had a curious omission, there was no mention of Down Syndrome, Autism or Epilepsy. Karrie was nominated for leading by example, for caring about the children she helps, for her school and community activities and for gaining national attention for continuing to pursue her new goal of dancing with Ellen DeGeneres.
Karrie Brown was named the CMT YMCA’s Youth of the Year for what she has accomplished, not what she has accomplished despite her diagnoses. That is how Brown wants people to see her daughter.
“She’s not a poor little thing, she’s doing great things,” Brown said.
