Alie B. Gorrie is co-hosting Journey of Hope on Aug. 19.By June Mathews
An exciting evening of celebration is in store during United Ability’s annual Journey of Hope event on Aug. 19 at UAB’s Alys Stephens Center. And what an evening it will be. After all, it’s been 75 years in the making.
Founded in 1948 as Spastic Aid to provide services to medically fragile individuals with cerebral palsy, the organization has evolved into today’s United Ability and its full spectrum of services not found anywhere else in Alabama. For 75 years, United Ability, known from 1972 until 2017 as United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham, has been empowering children and adults living with disabilities.
Vitória Bueno, a gifted ballerina, will perform at Journey of Hope, serving as an inspiring reminder that individuals with disabilities can often succeed at what others may believe is impossible.
Bueno, an 18-year-old Brazilian beauty, was born without arms. She gained worldwide recognition through her appearance on America’s Got Talent earlier this year, and videos of her performances on social media have gone viral.
Being honored for their contributions to United Ability are Bob Chapman, Charles Leesburg and Charlie Moses. Last year’s honoree, Chris Biggins, Birmingham golf pro and one of the most highly ranked adaptive golfers in the world, will serve as co-host for this year’s event, alongside Birmingham actor and disability inclusion advocate Alie B. Gorrie.
“I’m really excited to be hosting this year because I love United Ability and what they do,” said Gorrie. “I learned about United Ability maybe six or seven years ago when I was living in New York City and doing some disability-focused theater work there, and a bunch of Birmingham people said, ‘Hey, when you come home, you need to check out United Ability. We’ve got some awesome stuff there, too.’”
So the next time Gorrie came home, she took their advice, contacted United Ability and took a tour of the facilities.
“I was blown away that we had this incredible campus in our city giving so many people with disabilities major opportunities and offering empowerment,” she said.
When Gorrie moved back to Birmingham during the pandemic, she saw it as a temporary move. But in the meantime, she realized how much the city had grown in terms of services and organizations working to ensure that people with disabilities are provided with opportunities for independence and empowerment. So Gorrie stayed.
“I have my own disability – low vision caused by a rare eye disease that I was born with and for which there is no cure for – so it’s important that any of us with disabilities recognize those places around the city that are showing up and helping people,” she said. “And we need to let everyone know about what those places do.”
Gorrie believes that a big part of the excitement and influence of Journey of Hope is the focus on featuring a disabled artist each year.
“I think that’s incredibly important,” she said. “I know that growing up, I never saw any celebrities or artists or Boardway performers that had a vision impairment or low vision. I had no role models, so I had to create what I wanted to see. But the fact is, there are kids who are going to see Vitoria Bueno – a ballerina who has no arms – and they’re going to see that she is clearly thriving and living an amazing life with a disability.”
Gorrie expressed similar thoughts about her Journey of Hope co-host’s influence.
“Chris Biggins is awesome,” she said. “Where my passion is adaptive arts, he’s super passionate about adaptive sports. It’s important to have all kinds of role models showing kids what people with disabilities can do.”
English (US)