December 2011 Events

I am looking forward to seeing many of you at the Holiday party this weekend! Thanks again to the Chase family for hosting and Donna for sending out all the invites and organizing the food. We are still planning to have some of the Kappa Delta's at the party to help watch the younger kids. I do not have a final confirmation at this time of how many volunteers we will have but I am planning on bringing a small gift as a thank you.

The Lowndes Advocacy Resource Center (LARC) is in need of consumer presents for their annual Christmas party. They need 69 presents for males and 31 for females.  If you would like to help, you can bring items to me, Erin, at our DS Christmas party or drop them off at First Christian Church by December 16^th. Please limit the value to around $10.  Ideas include:  cologne/perfume, t-shirts, hair items, hats-caps, billfolds, watches, jewelry, bath sets, etc... For many of the consumers this will be the only gift they receive this year.

 

Looking ahead….I know it’s a month away but I wanted to mention some dates in January so you can go ahead and put them on your calendar.

            Beginning in January, the DSASG Planning Committee will start meeting once a month to  plan out the year for our group. Different topics to cover include advocacy, fundraising, events and outreach. If you would like to be a part of Planning Committee please feel free to join us. We are looking for someone to head up each area or volunteer your time with one of the areas you feel pulled to. The meetings are tentatively scheduled for the first Thursday of the month.  Our regular monthly meeting will be January 14^th at First Christian Church. Further details about a speaker and topic to be announced.  

            The Lowndes Interagency Coordinating council is presenting a special speaker in January   about children with Down syndrome.  The presentation will be located at the Valdosta Human Services Building in the 1st floor conference room from 8:30 am – 12 pm on Thursday, January 12, 2012.  Guest speaker is Dr. Cynthia Jones from Atlanta Georgia.  She is the Executive Director of the Down syndrome Association of Atlanta. 

            In January, I will be sending out a monthly newsletter for our group. The newsletter will   give information about the upcoming meetings and events. It will also spotlight various members and their families. Donna will continue to keep our website and facebook page updated while also sending out emails about various opportunities as they arrive. If you learn of any event or opportunity you would like me to share in the newsletter or for Donna to post online, please send it to us at info@southgeorgiadsa.org.

For those that will not be at our event this Saturday, we will miss you and hope to see everyone in January at our monthly meeting! Happy Holidays!

– Erin Gaskins

World Down Syndrome Celebration Pictures

As part of our outreach for the DSA of South Georgia, we celebrated World Down Syndrome Day a little early. On March 19th, local families came together all because we share one common thread...we love someone with an extra chromosome.
The pictures from that celebration are now available.

I am coping the post from my own blog over at http://www.crazybeautifullove.com/. Enjoy!

This past weekend, I was honored to get together with other families in our first event for the Down Syndrome Association of South Georgia. I shared pictures a few days ago from that event in the post: Just the Beginning. Well today, I honor my Eslea and all those like her that ROCK an extra chromosome by sharing with you the rest of the pictures from our World Down Syndrome Day celebration.

Sit back and relax because the day was beautiful and so are the (oh so very many) pictures.

The beauty of having designer genes....

The siblings....

Love. Love. Love.

All the food...

and fun...

Somehow after all that, we still had time to release balloons in honor of everyone with Down Syndrome...

It was an incredible day.
If you're still here, thank you for taking the time to see what amazing lives our families have all because we are blessed with someone with an extra chromosome.

Until next time!
-erin

World Down syndrome celebration a success!

Greetings to all!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who came out to McKey Park yesterday (3/19) to help celebrate World Down syndrome day.  We celebrated the joy of the extra 21st chromosome!  World Down syndrome day is actually recognized on 3/21, but Saturdays are a better day for most people, so we celebrated 2 days early!

For those who do not know, 3/21 was picked because those who have a diagnosis of Down syndrome have 3 copies of the 21st chromosome.  World Down syndrome day was established to show that those who have Down syndrome are vital and important parts of society, that their lives matter and make a difference.  All over the world, people will honor and help to promote acceptance and understanding of those with Down syndrome.  I was honored to be a part of this yesterday. 

Thank you to those families who helped donate to the lunch and your time in helping to reach out to others in our community.  Down syndrome was represented in the age ranges of 2 months-37 years of age.  It was a beautiful afternoon in South Georgia with clear, blue skies and perfect temperatures in the high 70's/low 80's.  The kids enjoyed playing at the park, while the adults enjoyed making new friendships and sharing stories.  We ended our outing with a balloon release to honor our children and all those with Down syndrome. 

This was the first official outing of the DSA of South Ga and again I say thank you to those who came out and supported the group.   I look forward to meeting all of you again in the future.  As we continue to grow, please let us know how we can be of any service to you.  Pictures to follow soon.