The Brightside: Getting to know Dominique Sessa, a local philanthropist

SALISBURY, Md. – In Salisbury, Maryland, you’ll find a superhero of sorts. Her name? Dominique Sessa.

Sessa explained, “So I have a neuromuscular disorder, but the gene I have isn’t identified. It’s kind of like being an X-man, but I don’t know my power yet!”

Sessa has done a lot in her 25 years of life. Most recently, she’s started a Facebook group called Delmarva COVID-Crafters (which distributes face masks to those in need), she’s helped get Disability Awareness Month recognized in the City of Salisbury, and she’s written letters to countless people going through hard times… but life wasn’t always like this.

Sessa said, “I used to be a dancer, I love dancing.”

When Sessa was 13, she fell and hurt herself and had to get surgery. As her mom Judy explains, that’s when Dominique’s life changed forever. “Apparently when you have neuromuscular disease, something traumatic has to happen for it to come out, and the surgery was the traumatic thing that pushed her,” Judy Sessa said.

At first, Dominique just walked with a limp. Eventually though, she was wheelchair bound. She admits it was hard to adjust to this new normal.

Sessa said, “If you would notice I was disabled, then suddenly you would say, ‘Oh, this girl is a wheelchair user’ and then would go ‘What’s wrong with you? Wow, are you alright? Did you get hit by bus? Did you get hit by a car?'”

Through all the hardship though, Dominique says she learned an important lesson.

Sessa said, “I immediately found that helping people made me feel better when I was 13… because even now during the pandemic, I think being scared, if you help someone you feel better.”

So perhaps maybe making people feel better is Dominique’s superpower. Right now, her powers are in full force as she’s helped distribute over 5,000 face masks through her Delmarva COVID Crafters group, which now has almost 350 members.

Sessa said, “It’s not easy to wear a mask all the time, its scary… so if you can make someone just feel happy and loved I think its a great thing.”

Dominique spends her own money buying the products needed to craft the face masks. If you would like to help her out by donating, you can click here.