about
Telling stories of our fragile and shared humanity
meet the mooneys
Our story
When Matthew and his wife Ginny were 30 weeks pregnant with their first child- they received a diagnosis of trisomy 18. Eight weeks later, their son, Eliot, was born. Eliot lived for 99 days and Matt chronicled his life through a blog that would be the beginnings of A Story Unfinished- a book written by Matt about Eliot’s life and the lessons God taught them through their son. Eliot’s story has since been shared with the world through a short video that has been featured on The Today Show as well as The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Matt and Ginny founded 99 Balloons, an organization working with persons experiencing disability locally and globally. The organization grew from a small respite night called rEcess that the Mooneys started in their community. Today, rEcess programs have been started in over 50 locations across 13 states in the U.S. as well as sites in Australia and Canada.
Matthew currently serves on the Board of 99 Balloons and lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he and Ginny busy themselves raising Hazel, Anders and Lena. Matt & Ginny adopted Lena from Ukraine after getting to know her through their global work with 99 Balloons. Lena has severe disabilities of her own, including autism and cerebral palsy, so they are now a family served by the beautiful community of 99 Balloons.
Matthew speaks, writes and consults in areas related to disabilities and inclusion. He is an attorney as well as a current PhD candidate studying Theological Ethics at Aberdeen University in Scotland. His work with building inclusive communities has allowed him to serve in Haiti, Mexico, Ukraine, Uganda, India and more.
as seen on
Work with Matthew
Matthew speaks, writes and consults on issues relating to disability and inclusion with churches, organizations and businesses regularly.
consulting
Matthew works with all types of individuals, orgs and teams to train, equip and provoke them toward becoming a space that acknowledges and accepts our shared humanity.
speaking
Matthew draws upon a mix of personal stories, theology, law and historical contexts in order to tailor his message to a vast array of audiences.