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 75 locations across 13 states in the U.S. as well as sites in Australia and Canada and 99 Balloons has added an adult model of friendship called bEfriend.
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 disabilities of her own, so they are now a family served by the beautiful community they helped start.
Matthew speaks, writes and consults in areas including disability, theology and community building. He is an attorney as well as holding a PhD in Theological Ethics from Aberdeen University in Scotland. His work with building inclusive communities has allowed him to serve in Haiti, Mexico, Ukraine, Uganda, India and more.