The ‘love yourself’ message of motivational speaker
JONO LANCASTER’S message is clear when he visits schools to give motivational talks: “Love yourself.”
It took the 34-year-old, born with the rare genetic condition Treacher Collins Syndrome, which affects facial bone development, years to accept the way he looked.
As an adult, he now travels the world giving support to people with appearancechanging conditions after setting up his own charitable foundation, Love Me Love My Face.
Mr Lancaster told how he been inundated with requests for support and grant funding from the organisation, which is run by four people from an office in Pontefract.
He said: “When I was younger I felt very isolated and unhappy.
“I started funding my own projects and going into schools to talk about confidence building and self-love. From the moment I did that, the demand started growing and I couldn’t fund it all myself.
“The foundation has been going for two years. It’s absolutely incredible.
“People from all over the world are starting to get our logo tattooed on themselves.
“We wanted to gradually build it up but straight away we had people asking for help from all over the world. It was like running before we could walk.”
Recent requests for help have included a family in Mexico whose daughter has Treacher Collins Syndrome.
Mr Lancaster said: “The family needed a grant to pay for the surgery, which is taking place in March. We are very proud of that.”
Mr Lancaster said companies are now being invited to help the foundation deliver its work.
“One of our biggest goals is providing family retreats,” he said. “We have just had our first Treacher Collins UK meeting. Families from all over the UK met each other and shared stories. We had children who met other children with Treacher Collins for the first time. That’s huge.”
“The next step is looking for local companies that can support us. For £100 they can sponsor a family to go to our retreat.”
Email Love.myface@hotmail. com To find out how to support the foundation’s work.