In the Summer of 2009, Jacob Titus, a four-year-old boy from the small rural community of Floyds Knobs, Indiana -- just outside of Louisville -- was playing T-ball in a place where, as his mother Patricia says, "life lessons are learned at church, home and on the baseball field." Jacob's "turn" at bat and on the field was a thrill for him, but more importantly, an event that transformed the hearts of everyone in his town.
Considering that hundreds of thousands of kids across the country join T-ball teams every year, this could almost be a simple and unremarkable story. Except for one thing -- as Patricia later wrote: "My youngest son loves to bat, loves to run, loves to play catcher. Jacob also happens to have Down Syndrome."
Her article about Jacob's experience -- and the way the town came to embrace his triumph -- quickly captured the heart of veteran Orlando-based entertainment attorney Nick Nanton, co-author of the bestselling book Celebrity Branding You. While Jacob was getting his turns at bat, Nanton was jetting around the country, conducting seminars and immersed in his business of developing the celebrity branding potential of high caliber business people.
Patricia's story stopped him in his tracks -- and inspired him to executive produce the extraordinary documentary short film Jacob's Turn.
Nanton is currently working with his extended network of marketing experts to create awareness of Jacob's Turn, through a method of marketing that is usually applied to commercial ventures, but for the first time will be used to launch a charitable campaign -- one which he will help benefit children not only with Down Syndrome but a wide variety of special needs. The goal of everyone with an emotional and financial investment in the film is to raise people's awareness and generate charitable donations that will help these kids receive the assistance they need to lead the best lives they can. At its heart, however, Jacob's Turn is designed to inspire -- to let special needs children and their parents know that the unique challenges they face need not limit the potential to achieve dreams, even small ones that start out on a baseball field in a place like Floyds Knobs.
"Our hope is to help as many kids with special needs as possible," Nanton says:
I'm optimistic because it was pure serendipity which led me to Jacob's world in the first place, and I feel that we're all walking through a series of amazing doors that continue to open. Whether this film reaches the millions of people we hope it will reach and raises awareness and money on the scope we intend remains to be seen. It could be a huge success, or simply be known as a great story that touches the hearts of people, making them reflect for a moment. For now, we're simply thrilled that the story turned out so well. It's exciting to be able to make a difference and to share Jacob's wonderful story.
To learn more or to support now, please visit www.JacobsTurn.com.