Virginia Down Syndrome Association

In addition to volunteer services, the organization is the grateful recipient of financial contributions by 100% of its board and staff. 2022 for vdsa was a year of great change. We reached a new milestone in programs and individual support provided to families in our network. We welcomed 117 new families and increased programs provided by 61%. During 2022, the organization was able to host in-person and virtual social and education programs. We provided a total of 187 program offerings. 76 programs were held virtually and 111 were in-person. We had 1,888 attendees across the programs, which included 917 attendees who were individuals with Down Syndrome, 741 were parents or educators and 230 were siblings. We were proud to launch our 21 shades of Virginia, a new black family support group.also in 2022, we officially changed our name from the Down Syndrome Association of greater richmond to the Virginia Down Syndrome Association. Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion demands that we ensure all families with Down Syndrome are reached across Virginia. Our work to reach families outside of richmond is now more achievable with a name that demonstrates our reach and goal to serve all families. We proudly serve over 700 families across greater richmond, charlottesville, williamsburg, central shenandoah valley and our newest community, fredericksburg. Our social programs include the following: vdsa provides social programming and member engagement for all families, as well as targeted opportunities for individuals with Down Syndrome by a variety of age groups. Our social groups by age fosters friendships, peer socialization, networking and resourcing opportunities for both the individuals with Down Syndrome and parents. Members are allowed to participate in any group that meets their needs.hands up! - age 0-5 years oldadventurers - age 6-12 years oldfunquest - age 13-21 years oldfun4life - age 21 and upduring 2022, vdsa hosted a variety of virtual and in-person social group events for all ages where members were able to participate in activities and socialize. These activities included world Down Syndrome celebration, dinner outings, splash pad meet and greets, gymnastics, miniature golf, yoga, rock climbing, new parent brunch, hiking, fishing, outdoor adventure club, social skill building, and arts in the park. Family events for 2022 included a family picnic and pool party, baseball game outing, trunk or treat, ornament decorating and holiday party.vdsa has other targeted groups to help provide members with the opportunity to come together to support each other. These groups include:diagnosis plus is a support group designed to bring together families who have a loved one with Down Syndrome but may also have an additional diagnosis or condition that brings different needs. This group provides the opportunities for parents to come together and support each other, no matter what that extra something may be.moms and dads groups are designed to give each parent an opportunity to develop their own unique network of support. These groups help provide opportunities for fellowship, resource sharing and recreational activities. During 2022, our social groups dads and moms continued to meet in all our services areas to resource and network. Grandparent to grandparent is designed to give each grandparent the opportunity to develop their own unique network of support. This group provides opportunities for fellowship, resource sharing and recreational activities.mi familia is a family support group to provide opportunities for our spanish speaking families to come together for fellowship, resource sharing and recreational activities. We host several family events each year focused on our spanish-speaking families. 21 shades of Virginia is a new family support group created in 2022 after an expressed need in support of families expecting or raising a black/interracial child with Down Syndrome. This group is designed to provide a safe space for the black community to network, collaborate, create and share information while building meaningful connections. Educational programs:designed to meet the unique needs of individuals with Down Syndrome throughout the lifespan over 16 different educational opportunities have helped parents learn how to receive the best services, provide the best school and employment support, gather and share resources about how to best include their child in the community. During 2022, vdsa launched a new junior academy program for individuals with Down Syndrome aged 11-14 years old. This program is focused on pre-employment skills through volunteer service projects. Nine individuals with Down Syndrome participated in our inaugural year providing eight hours of community service. Such as, speech & language, oral motor planning, sensory, physical therapy, fine motor development, behavior & social, and vision & hearing.new in 2022, vdsa hosted a new Virginia virtual Down Syndrome speaker series called "learning thru the lifespan". This speaker series held 8 sessions focused on Down Syndrome and a variety of topics ranging from diet, behavior, education, early development, adult medical guidelines, mental health, education, and employment. The expectation is the speaker series will alternate years with the disability education and transition conference.in 2022, we were able to grow our early childhood services by adding an outreach & inclusion specialist role. This role provides support to daycares, preschools, early childhood, professionals, and parents of children from birth to 6 years old. In addition, vdsa was able to continue our education programs and held many meetings virtually. This included the following:disability education and transition conference - in 2022, we launched a new virtual speaker series focused on individuals with Down Syndrome. The disability education and transition conference will move to a biannual event and was held in-person in february 2023. The 2023 event hosted over 270 educators and parents through 14 breakout sessions. The conference also provided attendees with 34 exhibitor resources. Learn to grow baby series - provided 9 families of children 0-18 months with Down Syndrome an 8-week class series of information & resources and answer questions about their child's development. Learning program 2022-2023 - 17 families attending virtual classes each saturday once a monthfor pre-k to elementary aged children. In addition, three in-person classes for parents and their child to work with special education teachers and ot specialist. Hosted several parent education webinars, including parent chat on back-to-school and inclusion, special needs trust webinar and adult mental health education and support. Moving on - hosted two 6-week communication classes for adults with Down Syndrome in partnership with longwood university speech therapy graduate students.summer employment academy - held our 4-week employment academy with 8 students and partnering with 8 businesses in the community. Iep reviews and parent education supportadvocacy/awareness:spreading awareness, advocacy and inclusion throughout the community occurs throughout the year in partnership with the arc of Virginia, the national Down Syndrome society and throughout our service area on world Down Syndrome day. Also, during the month of october, we celebrate individuals with Down Syndrome and make people aware of their abilities and accomplishments. Some examples are:state budget hearings advocacy day on capitol hill in rvaworld Down Syndrome daystate special education advisory committee meetingsfundraising: other community and restaurant fundraisers annual raffleannual softball tournament - 2 weekendsannual step up for Down Syndrome 5k & family festival - richmond (hosted our 16th year)annual step up for Down Syndrome event - charlottesville (hosted our 3rd year)held the inaugural step up for Down Syndrome - central shenandoaht21 golf tournamentannual appealfamily and community outreach:engaging families at every state of life by building relationships, bringing them together with purpose in our community and expanding vdsa's geographic reach is a major priority, and the multi-pronged approach begins at birth and continues through the lifespan.community presentations by the following groups: vcu dental, vcu medical students, hanover special education advisory council, and vcu education departmentfirst call visits - 19, with an additional 98 new families reaching out to vdsa, for a total of 117 new families.provided family navigation support services to 113 families of individuals with Down syndrome.provided $15,049 to 37 individuals with Down Syndrome for community engagement and enrichment program scholarships.provided 242 educators, families, and community