Local radio station Indie 88 held a "Win Your Own Billboard" contest recently where one lucky winner won the opportunity to put whatever they wanted on the billboard at one of the city's busiest intersections: Bay and Bloor.
The station received "hundreds upon hundreds" of applications, and chose 12 finalists before throwing it over to the Internet for voting last month. The winner was clear. After receiving 45,000 votes one young woman won the opportunity to feature her baby, Pip, on the billboard with the slogan, "What Makes You Different Is What Makes You Beautiful."
Pip was born with Down Syndrome and has since undergone numerous eye and heart surgeries in her young 18 months of life. The early diagnosis prompted her mother Tara McCallan to launch Happy Soul Project.
"Since she was born I started Happy Soul Project and have made it my mission to show others that although our life is a wee bit different, it is brilliant and it is beautiful all the same," McCallan wrote in her application. "So if we could help just one person by seeing Pip and our message that 'What Makes You Different Is What Makes You Beautiful' on a big, bloody billboard that would be just about the best thing on the planet."
The billboard was unveiled on May 14, but recently caught the attention of ABC News. The station interviewed McCallan about the unveiling.
"It was a feeling of redemption," McCallan told ABC News. "We had come full circle."
Since the billboard was unveiled, ABC News reports that people from across Canada have travelled to see it.
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Original Source: ABC News