Mommy Life

For Immediate Release                             Contact: Jordana Stern

National Down Syndrome Society

212-763-4362/jstern@ndss.org

Join The National Down Syndrome Society this March 21 to Celebrate World Down Syndrome Day

NDSS & The My Great Story Campaign invite you to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day.
 

New York, NY- March 1, 2011. On March 21, the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) will celebrate World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) to honor and celebrate the accomplishments and achievements being made by people with Down syndrome.

NDSS invites you to join the global celebration of spreading messages of acceptance and inclusion for people with Down syndrome throughout your media outlet during the month of March. Below are some initiatives you can get involved in:  

• The My Great Story (MGS) public awareness campaign seeks to ignite a new way of thinking about people with Down syndrome by collecting inspirational stories told by people with Down syndrome and their family members, friends, colleagues, and many others. NDSS has added a new category in honor of WDSD to promote storytelling in spirit 3-21. NDSS encourages you to post, tweet and blog about the MGS campaign, and promote reposting, retweeting and more sharing amongst your readers.

• Watch the five MGS Celebrity PSAs or post them to your media outlet's website. These PSAs star Actor John C. McGinley, TV Hosts Meredith Vieira and Nancy O'Dell, Self-Advocate and Actor Chris Burke.

• Get the inside scoop with behind the scenes footage from the My Great Story print ad photo shoot, which features stories from Sara Wolff, The Public Speaker, and Sujeet Desai, The Traveler.

• Watch the new NDSS Milestones video starring four families who reflect on the milestones that their children have achieved and those they hope they will accomplish.

Down syndrome is the most commonly occurring genetic condition, in which the individual has a third copy of the twenty-first chromosome. World Down Syndrome Day is celebrated on the twenty-first day of the third month of the year in recognition of this fact. One in every 691 live births is a baby born with Down syndrome, and it is the most commonly occurring chromosomal condition. People with Down syndrome attend school, work, participate in decisions that affect them, and contribute to society in many wonderful ways.

People with Down syndrome are living longer than ever before. The life expectancy of individuals with Down syndrome has increased dramatically in recent decades - from 25 in 1983 to 60 today. Children with Down syndrome are often fully included in social and educational settings and increasingly go on to graduate high school and attend postsecondary education programs. While placement in the workforce remains a struggle, the situation has improved and adults with Down syndrome have attained a variety of positions, bringing enthusiasm, reliability and dedication to their jobs.

We encourage you to get involved and help NDSS raise awareness for people with Down syndrome.

Read more at NDSS