We are pleased to share that last year’s mini campaign to raise a $5,000 goal by March 21st was successful.  We exceeded our goal and raised $6,300 by the deadline.  The Government of Alberta matches our donations received up to $5,000 when using their crowdfunding platform.  We have received these funds and launched this year’s campaign again.  Our board decided to move these funds to our Endowment Fund held at the Edmonton Community Foundation so that we can see this sustainability fund grow for the future.  If you are interested in this initiative again this year, we have launched the 2026 campaign and it is LIVE now.   You can visit the new link here and help us again on our $5,000 goal for 2026!    World Down Syndrome Day 2026 #TogetherAgainstLonliness by Edmonton Down Syndrome Society 

Thank you to those who attended our Board Community Meeting on Monday evening.  Our Board of Directors Chair, Karen Stone and the majority of our Board Directors were in attendance.  Karen and I shared the highlights of the progress EDSS has made over the past 4 years in both programs, services and financial growth.  We also shared the strategic direction and advocacy strategy direction we are taking.  Here are a few of the highlights from the presentation.  If you have any questions, please reach out to me by email at janet@edss.ca or the office at 780 944 4224 

The Board's Strategic Priorities for 2025-2029 include:

• Enhance services to our Down Syndrome community 
• Elevate Growth and Sustainability 
• Advocate for System Change

We have worked with the Canadian Strategy Group to support us to determine the best way to approach advocacy for our community and organization.     

• Build the brand awareness about EDSS.... Who we are and Why it matters! 
• Relationship building and policy level engagement
• Critical alignment with government partners towards achieving long term outcomes for the Ds community. 

 CSG developed and distributed a survey to our members. 

•  41 members completed the survey 
• 73% were from the city of Edmonton 
• 93% identified as a parent or caregiver to an individual with Down Syndrome 
• 61% have been connected with EDSS for over ten years 

  We heard from our members what the top priorities for the advocacy strategy should be, and our Board selected these top 3: 

•  Health Care & Service Navigation
• Education & Inclusion 
• Adult Services and Transitions 

Stay tuned here each week, and I will share more about how we are progressing on each of these priorities throughout the coming months. 

Updates

We are one month from World Down Syndrome Day on Saturday March 21 and I invite you to plan on joining us for an exciting day at the Castle Downs YMCA in north Edmonton.  Please read on for more details. We are looking forward to bringing our celebration to the community – so come out, join us and celebrate! 

Keep your eye on the “Save the Date” notice included in the newsletter for more events and opportunities to get involved. We are open to volunteers so if you have some time and interest in volunteering, please let us know by contacting our volunteer coordinator at volunteer@edss.ca. 

Our Walk for Down Syndrome Committee is off to a great start, and we would like to acknowledge those who have already made their commitments as partners.  Thank you to Tacada, Radke Professional Corporation, Mullen Leadership, Integra Technologies, GC Custom Metals, The Ice Cream Depot, Canadian Brewhouse for your support.  If you would like to learn more about how you and your company can get involved, please review the attached partnership package.  Also, for those who are getting your teams ready to launch your fundraising page on March 21 World Down Syndrome Day, there will be an extra prize draw just for you. Please take a look here and contact us as soon as possible to be eligible for the most partner benefits.  

We have just received notice of our next Casino to support the important work we do at EDSS.  The next Casino will be September 22 & 23 at the Grand Villa Casino.  If you are interested in volunteering please watch for our call to go out in Early May. 

Thank you in advance for your support! 

Our team has been busy during these first weeks of January meeting and onboarding the newest students from the University of Alberta who are enrolled in the CSL (Community Service Learning) courses.  These students come to us with an eagerness to learn new skills and meet people they have not yet had the opportunity to work with before.  They will be supporting EDSS with projects from the upcoming World Down Syndrome Day, the Walk for Down Syndrome and various program related activities to directly work with our participants in our drop in playgroup and the Adult Day Program or Centre Stage Musical Theatre.  We are pleased to welcome these enthusiastic young people to EDSS, and we are looking forward to seeing them develop their projects over the next few weeks.  

Cold Weather Policy Reminder: 

In the event of temperatures, including wind chill, reaching -30°C or below, according to Environment Canada’s website, all programs will be canceled to prioritize safety. This excludes programs that run during office hours at the Edmonton Down Syndrome Society building. 

The office will remain open, and programs and services that are delivered at our centre will continue unless you are otherwise notified. 

Thanks to funding support from Canadian Tire Jumpstart Foundation, we are very pleased to share that we will be starting a new Floor Hockey Program March 16th. Registration  NOW OPEN Like Jumpstart, we understand the importance of sport for the health and well-being of kids and are proud of the work we do to provide sport and play for the community. Email Meghan Schritt, our Program Manager meghan@edss.ca to register.

Volunteer Opportunity – Part-time Administrative Assistant 

We are looking for someone who would be interested in working a few hours 1 day a week to support the office with a variety of administrative duties.  Please share your resume with admin@edss.ca if you have skills and interest to learn more.   

Did you know?

Through the Eye See…Eye Learn program, children in kindergarten are eligible to receive free glasses and frames. Be sure to ask your optometrist about it!