What a wonderful World Down Syndrome Day. Our team hosted our celebration with support from our partners at the Castle Downs YMCA with rental of their community space. See the photos attached in this newsletter. Thank you to all those who attended and supported this important community event including donated treats from Carmela’s Whisk in St. Albert, Mr. Mike’s team in Grande Prairie, Mortgage Connection, Lena Daniels, Coulter Woodmansey and Kordell Jackson from the Edmonton Elks and our wonderful ambassadors and volunteers supporting our staff team! It was an amazing event and we are thankful for all the support to make it a great celebration.
Thank you also to 2 more Walk for Down Syndrome partners who made cheque presentations this week – Dustin Moss and Mortgage Connection, and the Rotary Club of Edmonton Sunrise.
Congratulations to Allison Haley who won the first early bird prize – a gift card to Canadian Tire! We will have the next early bird draw prize on April 16th for all of you who have registered by April 15th. Register Now Here.
Advocacy In Action
Julie Boucher, Director of Community and Family Services has been busy making connections within our medical community, and last evening we were very pleased to share a wonderful experience we curated in partnership with the University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine. We were invited to make a presentation to a classroom of new medical students and residents accompanied by 4 of our family advocates with a child born with Down syndrome. The event was informative and impactful as our families each shared their diagnosis stories with the students. Each one is different and so very relevant and significant for these enthusiastic physicians developing in their practice. Our families had a common and important message to deliver focusing on how “words matter” and each child is loved and their journey begins with this important message of their diagnosis and how it is delivered. The parents will never forget how their story began. We are also very pleased to share the current medical guidelines with these students and the news that the second edition review is currently being published and will be released later this year. You can find this update and your own copy of the medical guidelines for adults with Ds here. Please share these with your family physician.
Updates
Thank you to our community partners, Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities and the Calgary Foundation for supporting our new Floor Hockey Program. There are 17 youth and young adults taking part and 3 new volunteers and one new coach who are enthusiastically enjoying the indoor version of Canada’s favourite indoor sport.
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As we look ahead to summer, we’re excited to share that registrations for our Children’s Summer Camps (ages 6–15), Employment Readiness Program, and Adult Summer Program will open next month. Thanks to the generous support of the Rotary of Edmonton Sunrise, we’re pleased to offer reduced registration fees for our summer camps this year, helping make these experiences more accessible to families. Participants can look forward to weekly outings to Oilers Fan Park, along with engaging activities led by our incredible staff, who are dedicated to creating a fun, inclusive, and supportive environment for everyone involved.
Podcast with Kristy Wolfe, Wolfe Pack Warriors Foundation. (From Playgroups to Policy)
I was fortunate to have a conversation with Kristy Wolfe, Digital Storyteller, Executive of the Wolfe Pack Warriors Foundation. Kristy and I explore how Edmonton Down Syndrome Society Builds Belonging. Listen to our podcast to hear about joy, grit, and community: from toddler playgroups to employment readiness and a joyful runway gala, discover how EDSS builds inclusion you can feel.
We cover many topics and the ask is simple and concrete: give, amplify, connect. Volunteer at a fundraiser, attend the walk, wear mismatched socks on World Down Syndrome Day to spark conversations, or bring the medical guidelines to a local GP. If you work in education or childcare, invite EDSS to train your team. If you are an employer, explore customized roles and supports that unlock talent. The through-line is practical hope—families, clinicians, educators, and neighbors can each move one piece, and together those pieces become a reliable path from first playgroup to first paycheck, and from anxious beginnings to a life rich in friends, work, and community.
50/50 draw for World Down Syndrome Day
Now live and will finish at the Walk for Down Syndrome on Sunday, June 14th. Tickets can be purchased here.
Important ADAP Advocacy Action for Families shared by St. Albert MLA Marie Renaud:
“Learn to Advocate, the YouTube Live event I hosted yesterday evening with disability advocate Zachary Weeks and Michelle Kristinson of the Alberta Ability Network. It was a great beginning to the conversation about how we can all work together to stop the dangerous cuts to disability services being made by the UCP government.”
If you want to watch the recording of the event, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEA8MuVqg_M
Here are more links to help you keep on top of what’s happening in the legislature, and links and tools for how you can do your own advocacy.
Alberta Urgently Needs Accessibility Legislation
https://win.newmode.net/barrierfreea/albertaneedsaccessibilitylegislation
I have also attached information on how to lobby your local municipality to call on the province to pause ADAP and consult with the community before making changes. Councils in Edmonton, Lethbridge, Claresholm and Camrose have already passed motions. Read the attached materials to learn more!
EDSS has the required paper petition in the office for you to sign, and here is a link to an online petition to stop ADAP: https://www.change.org/p/protect-albertans-with-disabilities-stop-the-transition-from-aish-to-adap
Municipal Government Notice of Motion can be found here.
Sample Letter to Mayors & Councillors can be found here.
Also, in celebration of the upcoming World Down Syndrome Day, you can visit the new link here and help us again on our $10,000 goal for 2026! Donation window open until March 31st! World Down Syndrome Day 2026 #TogetherAgainstLoneliness by Edmonton Down Syndrome Society
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!
