Happy World Down Syndrome Day!
Today is a day to celebrate the beauty of difference, and the power of acceptance and inclusion, to reduce the stigma surrounding exceptionalities.
Extra Awesome hosted an event in the ARC at Queen's University from 2:30-5:30 today, to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day. The poster on the left summarizes the mission of this campaign. We set up a booth with an abundance of balloons and smiles. Our volunteers and participants came together to sell "3 Times The Charm" stickers and pins, while students and community members came by to learn about the campaign, Extra Awesome, and to take pictures holding a white board that presented why they are "extra awesome." The individuals who spread the most awareness on social media (via getting the most likes on their posted picture) will win one of our special prizes. A big thanks to Starbucks, The Brass, Common Ground, and Pizza Pizza for providing the prizes for our raising awareness competition! |
2 new Committee Members
Check out our "Committee Crew" page to see the addition of 2 new members: Sophie Thomas, and Brittany McLaren. These lovely ladies are Extra Awesome's First Year Representatives. They assist all of the other committee members in required tasks, and seek out partnerships with different programs.
Generocksity Live Music Fundraising Event
Thursday, January 19th Generocksity will be hosting a live music event at the Brooklyn, and will be donating 100% of the proceeds directly to Extra Awesome!
Documentary Screening Event
This event was made to celebrate Canadian Down Syndrome Week (November 1st-7th)
We had 2 guest speakers: Bobby and Jocelyn from Down Syndrome Association of Kingston, who shared their stories about their children with Down Syndrome.
Gabriel’s Pizza graciously donated their delicious pizza for the event!
We encourage you to check out the documentary at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8audGmlFc4
The film:
“A World without Down Syndrome?” is a documentary about Down syndrome and the ethics of prenatal screening. This one-hour long film explores the science and thinking around the proposed new screening test for Down syndrome while exposing shocking statistics. This documentary was created by Sally Phillips, a woman from the UK who has a son with Down syndrome. Through talking with world renowned experts on Down syndrome and individuals with Down syndrome, Sally investigates the subject that ultimately asks: what sort of world do we want to live in and who do we want in it?
City of Kingston and United Way Grant & Nicole Gray
At the end of 2015 our program was awarded with an $8,175 grant from the City of Kingston and United Way. This financial support has assisted us in improving our program last Winter, and this Fall. One thing we have used this grant for is hiring a teacher, Nicole Gray, to work with Extra Awesome. Nicole has years of experience and expertise as a teacher, and has specialized in working with children who have behavioural and learning exceptionalities. She has been a very important resource for educating and assisting volunteers, as well as preparing and gathering academic exercises that fit the current needs of each individual participant. We are very thankful for her partnership!