Co-Founders Jaime Simpson and Amy Foster have been friends since they were five.  The two are both passionate about helping special needs children - Amy is a Pediatric Physical Therapist and Jaime is the parent of a special needs child.  Together, Jaime and Amy have started kidsDMExchange.org to give families a place to recycle children's durable medical supplies.

In 2005, kidsDMExchange.org Co-Founder Jaime and husband Steve adopted their first daughter, Jai.  Four months after her birth, Jaime and Steve's daughter was displaying signs of physical delays.  Co-Founder Amy Foster was instrumental in Jai's initial diagnosis and treatment.  Upon the urging of Jai's doctors, Jai underwent an MRI and an EEG.  It was then that Jaime and Steve discovered that their daughter had had a stroke in utero.  Her diagnosis came just two months after Jaime gave birth to their second daughter.

"Finding out that our daughter had special needs was a life-changing discovery," shared Jaime.  "We immediately began to question what we should do and how we could provide her with the most opportunities for a functional life."

Amy Foster is a a Pediatric Physical Therapist with an early childhood program in Sedgwick County, Kansas.  Amy is a 1994 graduate of Augusta High School.  After graduating from AHS, she went on to Southwestern College in Winfield where she completed her B.S. in Biology in 1998.  She then attended the University of Kansas Medical Center where she received her Masters in Physical Therapy.  In 2000, Amy began her career in pediatric physical therapy..

Amy recently married Youth Minister Brett Foster.  Amy is active in her church, First United Methodist Church.  She also devotes time to youth within her church and has been on numerous missionary trips. 

"I have always had a desire to help children," stated Amy.  "I feel the best way to minister and help youth is through Pediatric Physical Therapy."

"I am excited to be a part of kidsDMExchange.org because I see families struggling to get the equipment their children need on a daily basis," Amy explained.  "The more families who become involved, the more families who can be helped through this website."

Jaime Simpson is the owner of Necessities Media Group, an advertising agency in Butler County, Kansas.  Jaime is a 1994 graduate of Augusta High School.  After graduating from AHS, Jaime attended Wichita State University where she received her B.A. in Spanish and her Minor in Minority Studies.  Once Jaime graduated, she began teaching Spanish at a rural high school while she continued her education in Curriculum and Instruction at WSU.  After two years of teaching, Jaime returned to her advertising agency on a full-time basis.

Jaime's daughter had a stroke in utero that weakened her right side.  In addition, she had hearing loss in her left ear and a weak right eye.

"From the beginning, it was a struggle to prepare her for daily ongoings," explained Jaime.  "Hearing aid, leg braces, hand brace, gait trainer, etc.  All these things are necessary for her progress but are expensive.  We struggle with these things and I know that other families do."

"While we want to help other children and other families who struggle as our family struggles to meet our daughter's needs, our most important goal is to give Jai all that she needs to be happy, healthy and productive," Jaime continued.  "Jai has taught us humility and patience.  And because of her special needs, we have been able to meet others who we would not have met otherwise.  These other parents and families have taught us that it is okay to love the child but hate the disability.   It's a natural reaction as the parent of a special needs child."

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