March 21st was selected as March 21 = 3/21 = 3 copies of the 21st chromosome. (clever!)
Since it’s a global celebration of Down syndrome, numerous events are happening and many organizations are beating the donation drum. Some projects to consider spending your time and energy participating in are:
1. A Day in the Life of Down syndrome
“A Day in the Life with Down syndrome“ is a fantastic smorgasbord of stories from days in the life of those with Down syndrome. It’s a great way to take a peek at other’s lives, and to celebrate your own, or the person you love who has Down syndrome.
Down syndrome Blogs is folded into the A Day in the Life with Down syndrome site, so you can also browse blogs that have a connection with Down syndrome and get to know some other families and voices from the Down syndrome global community.
2. Random Acts of Kindness
This is a 4-step project that celebrates Down syndrome through random acts of kindness:
On March 21st, wear a t-shirt that is Down syndrome-related (the “Chromosome Shirt“ would be awesome!)
Choose an act of kindness, like bringing an overwhelmed mom a dinner package or giving warm socks and a shoe certificate to a homeless person (for more suggestions, check out the the IDSC list below)
Print out a WDSD postcard and give it out or place it with your Random Act of Kindness.
Take pictures of your random act if possible and post it on your social media pages with the hashtag #WDSD16.
For the postcards to print out and idea lists, click here to go to the IDSC site.
3. The 3*21 Pledge
The 3*21 Pledge is a project from Ruby’s Rainbow, an organization that seeks to help people with Down syndrome go on to higher education. The “3*21 Pledge is to:
Donate $21.
Pledge to be kind and considerate to peeps of all abilities.
Ask three friends to do the same.
All proceeds go to college scholarship funds for adults with Down syndrome.
Click here to pledge and learn more about this wonderful endeavor. Donate
There are some organizations that are run on shoestring budgets and affect great change that can use more support. Here are a few:
1. Lettercase
They are the ones who produce the outstanding books on “Understanding a Down syndrome Diagnosis”. They do truly amazing work with outreach to physicians and expectant parents, and have recently released a Spanish-language booklet. Read more about their work here.
The link to donate is here.
2. The National Down syndrome Adoption Network
This is totally grassroots and they literally accomplish life-changing feats on the slimmest of budgets. They can use support. The link to learn more about them is here. The link to donate is here.
3. Give to Research
There are few organizations that do great work with researching Down syndrome – there is still SO MUCH we do not know about this syndrome, that would be really helpful to know. The links between Down syndrome and leukemia? Down syndrome and Alzheimers? What about that zero-impulse control piece, or visual learning in individuals with Down syndrome?
Here are some organizations to give to –
Down syndrome Research Center at Stanford University
Down syndrome Education International
Down syndrome Research Foundation
Happy World Down Syndrome Day!
