A little more than a year ago, I wrote here about then-18-year-old Melissa Riggio, daughter of Barnes & Noble CEO Steve Riggio and already a powerful advocate for people like herself with Down syndrome.
Among other efforts, she had written a National Geographic Kids article urging readers to get to know people with Down syndrome before judging them, and a song available for downloading from the National Down Syndrome Society site.
Just recently, I was reminded of Melissa and her advocacy work by a post on the blog The Special Parent. And so her promise was fresh in my mind when a post on the same blog earlier this week shared the news that Melissa had died of leukemia on April 7, at the age of 20.
In Melissa's honor, I'm making her personal Web site my Site of the Day today. It contains a short message in her own words, lots of photos with her family and friends, and a recording of her song. The blog now contains a message about her death and her legacy.
For more information, check these sources from around the Web:
- Obituary and Guestbook from the New Jersey Star Ledger
- "Melissa Riggio Made a Difference" from Bella Online
- "The Scariest Word in the World," a post on leukemia and Down syndrome from the blog Garden of Eagan