Darius Brown of Newark, New Jersey, has a passion for animals and has turned that passion into a “dress for success” program for shelter animals.
Darius donates one-of-a-kind bow ties that he makes by hand to rescue organizations across the country. But this idea actually began as a way to help Darius. He was diagnosed with speech, comprehension, and fine motor skills delays at 2 years old, so his mother and sister highly and diligently encouraged his development.
So Darius began to assist his sister in making ribbons for her clients in cosmetology school. He improved his fine motor skills by cutting ribbons and sewing fabric together to help her out, which ultimately helped him improve his motor skills.
He then began to make his own bow ties that he wore on the regular. People would stop him on the street and ask him about them, so he started a custom bow tie company called Beaux & Paws to make bow ties for people and their pets.
When hurricanes Irma and Harvey hit, Darius decided to take it upon himself to help the shelter pets in the affected areas avoid euthanization by donating his handcrafted bow ties to shelters to help the animals get adopted as well as raise money for organizations that help shelter animals around the country.
His feat even caught the attention of former U.S. President Barack Obama who wrote Darius a letter applauding his efforts.
This summer, the New Jersey native plans to travel to at least five different states to visit as many shelters as possible so he can personally donate bow ties and assist in adoption events.