World Down Syndrome Day Celebration at Children’s Hospital Colorado to Honor Sandy Wolf

Global Down Syndrome Foundation event is part of global happenings on 3/21

Sandy Wolf receives the Global Down Syndrome Foundation's Community Leadership AwardDENVER (March 21, 2013) – The Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado, the Global Down Syndrome Foundation and the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome will join with all Coloradans and people around the world to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day, held on March 21.

The World Down Syndrome Day celebration in Denver will feature an announcement of $1.3 million in local Down syndrome research grants from Crnic Institute Executive Director Tom Blumenthal as well as refreshments and a performance by members of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation’s Be Beautiful Be Yourself Dance Class with the Colorado Ballet Academy.

At the event, Sandy Wolf will be presented with the Global Down Syndrome Foundation Community Leadership Award. Wolf has been a strong supporter of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation and the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Dance Class and has been contributed significantly to the cost of the program.

Also at the event, three winners from the second annual Crnic Institute World Down Syndrome Day Essay Contest will read their submissions. The contest was open to Colorado middle and high school students who either have Down syndrome or wrote about their relationship with someone with Down syndrome. The first-place winners are:
• Middle schooler without Down syndrome: Abigail Adams, Cimarron Middle School, Parker, CO
• Middle schooler with Down syndrome: Kaeda Smith, Boltz Middle School, Fort Collins, CO
• High schooler without Down syndrome: Carolyn Trahan, Discovery Canyon High School, Colorado Springs, CO
• High schooler with Down syndrome: Brenden Van Breuwaene, Castle View High School, Castle Rock, CO
• High school collaboration: Zulema Marrufo and Nancy Salinas, Fort Morgan High School, Fort Morgan, CO

The ceremony will take place in the atrium of Children’s Hospital Colorado from 2:15 p.m. to 4 p.m.

World Down Syndrome Day was established by Down Syndrome International in 2006. It is held on March 21 (3/21) to signify the uniqueness of the triplication (trisomy) of chromosome 21, which causes the genetic condition. The aim of the day is to raise awareness and understanding about Down syndrome, and to promote the inherent rights of persons with Down syndrome to enjoy full and dignified lives and be active and valuable participants in their communities and society.

A resolution to designate 3/21 as “World Down Syndrome Day,” to be observed every year beginning in 2012, was adopted by consensus by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2011. The resolution was proposed and promoted by Brazil, and co-sponsored by 78 U.N. member states. From 2012 onwards, the date will be celebrated by all 193 U.N. member states.

 

About the Global Down Syndrome Foundation

The Global Down Syndrome Foundation is a public nonprofit 501(c)(3) dedicated to significantly improving the lives of people with Down syndrome through research, medical care, education and advocacy. Formally established in 2009, the Foundation’s primary focus is to support the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, the first academic home in the U.S. committed to research and medical care for people with the condition. Fundraising and government advocacy that corrects the alarming disparity of national funding for people with Down syndrome is a major short-term goal. The Foundation organizes the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show — the single-largest annual fundraiser benefiting people with Down syndrome.  Programmatically, the Foundation organizes and funds many programs and conferences, including the Dare to Play Soccer Camps, the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders Dare to Cheer Camps, the Global Down Syndrome Educational Series, and the Global Down Syndrome Multi-Language Resource Project. The Foundation is an inclusive organization without political or religious affiliation or intention.

About the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome

The Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome is the first medical and research institute with the mission to provide the best clinical care to people with Down syndrome, and to eradicate the medical and cognitive ill effects associated with the condition. Established in 2008, the Crnic Institute is a partnership between the University of Colorado School of Medicine, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and Children’s Hospital Colorado. Headquartered on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, the Crnic Institute includes the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado. It partners both locally and globally to provide life-changing research and medical care for individuals with Down syndrome. The Crnic Institute is made possible by the generous support of the Anna and John J. Sie Foundation, and relies on the Global Down Syndrome Foundation for fundraising, education, awareness and government advocacy.  It is a research and medical-based organization without political or religious affiliation or intention.

 

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