A young Lebanon County woman with Down syndrome who started her own T-shirt business after high school was featured this week by a local news broadcaster for becoming a successful entrepreneur “despite facing unique challenges.”
Greer Leggat, 26, started her business, Magic By Greer, four years ago. She designs shirts, caps and other items with positive messages, such as “BE KIND,” written in her own handwriting.
LebTown featured Greer in February 2020 after her work began to find a following among local residents.
“Here’s an adult with Down syndrome that is so pure of heart and she’s spreading this message of positivity and people are embracing it,” Judy Leggat, Greer’s mother and who works for UCP Central PA as her caregiver, told LebTown then. “It gives her purpose.”
Read More: Meet Greer Leggat, the Lebanon artist behind popular ‘Be Kind’ shirts
The items designed by Greer are sold at Carriage House Style in Quentin, where Greer has worked for several years.
Money from each of Greer’s sales goes towards the Special Olympics and Development and Disability Services of Lebanon.
Greer was featured this week by CBS 21 News.
“According to the CDC, over 2.6 million Pennsylvanians have intellectual disabilities,” the article says. “From making crazy socks and painting beautiful artwork to designing with alpaca fur, many have started successful businesses despite facing unique challenges.”
The article notes, UCP Central PA has served for the past 70 years “as a pillar of support for people with intellectual disabilities.” The agency offers support in areas such as daily living and job assistance, but officials there say that funding from the state has stagnated, “creating challenges in providing competitive wages to caregivers.”
“Our industry is exacerbated because we’re limited by the reimbursement rates for what we can actually pay employees,” Janeen Latin, president and CEO of UCP Central PA, told CBS 21. As a result, the agency is seeing a shortage of workers with 100 current vacancies for caregiver positions.
Carriage House owner Jane Yorty shared the broadcast on social media.
“Seeing THOSE words on the screen opened the flood gate of happy tears,” she wrote, referring to Greer’s “BE KIND” slogan.
“Her body of work spread across the table…4+ years of building her business….embracing the attention…speaking of her mission IN FRONT OF CAMERAS…thriving and kicking a$$…it all came full circle and I’m bursting with pride,” her message on Facebook stated. “What started as her hanging out at the shop with me…impromptu dancing to Shawn Mendes…led to creating a positive message line of ‘Greer Gear’…to me shipping her creations all over the country and worn in various places across the world. … Greer is a gift my soul cherishes.”
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