21 Truths About Down Syndrome | #wdsd2016

Today is World Down Syndrome Day 2016!

21 March 2016 marks the 11th anniversary of World Down Syndrome Day. It is officially observed by the United Nations. Each year the voice of people with Down syndrome, and those who live and work with them, grows louder. But there is still so much more we can do.

Reece's Rainbow is working to do more by doing our part to share the TRUTH about Down Syndrome! So, for today, here is a repost from four years ago! From 21 beautiful families of children with Down syndrome and their TRUTH about Down syndrome! We'd love to invite these families (and ANYONE ELSE) to leave an updated photo of their child in the comments!

We'd love to hear from YOU! Please add your TRUTH about Down syndrome in the comments below and share our WDSD 2016 '21 Truths About Down Syndrome'!

Grab This!

CLICK HERE to order your Reece's Rainbow WDSD clothing and gear NOW with our WDSD “One Word that Describes Your Child with DS” graphic on them to wear and use proudly throughout the year! Celebrate World Down Syndrome Day with Reece’s Rainbow!

Happy World Down Syndrome Day 2016! #wdsd2016

Today is World Down Syndrome Day!


Every year, on March 21 (to honor the 3rd copy of the 21st chromosome presented in Down syndrome), the world comes together to raise awareness and advocate for people living with Down syndrome.

Have you grabbed our WDSD button to put on your blog/facebook/twitter?

It's the FINAL day of our 21 Days of Hope campaign! Please DONATE and SHARE! We have a MATCHING GRANT for 21 of our waiting children with Down syndrome!



It's also not too late to order t-shirts, journals, cups, tote bags, etc with our WDSD “One Word that Describes Your Child with DS” graphic on them to wear and use proudly throughout the year! Celebrate World Down Syndrome Day with Reece’s Rainbow!



We'd LOVE to hear from YOU! Share YOUR child with Down Syndrome in the Comments!

The next time you see a person or child with DS, stop… take notice. That life is nothing short of a miracle. The termination rate for pregnancies with DS diagnosis is now up to 94%. That is staggering. So, not only are you seeing the blessing of a person with DS, [made closer to the image of God than the rest of us], you are seeing the miracle of a life that many are trying to completely eliminate… I believe, hand on heart, that the two points are most definitely related…
(Lucille Brown)

$18K in TEN days?

$18K still in Grants Waiting to be Given to 18 Kids

We've reached the halfway mark already! You've done great to raise

$3,000 for the first three of our 21 Days of Hope Children! We are so

thankful for all of your hard work on behalf of our Waiting Children!

We still need your help to get the remaining 18 children their $1,000 in

Waiting Child Grants! We need your help to not let that FREE money from

our donor slip away!

We have TEN days left to raise $18,000!

Will you help us?

Why 21 Days of Hope?

We are nearly at the halfway point for the 21 Days of Hope campaign!

A donor has offered $21,000 to give to 21 of our waiting children if we can raise $21,000 for our Voice of Hope fund.

So, what is the Voice of Hope?

The Voice of Hope fund is what keeps us operational.

If we're going to continue to be successful saving lives, Reece's Rainbow has to be "out there,"  attending and sponsoring strategic events, print advertising, leveraging social media, building relationships, and seeking new donors to support our mission.  And behind the scenes, 7 days a week of administrative effort goes into managing/creating our website, defining our graphic/logo presence, handling donations, seeking and posting new waiting children, answering new family inquiries, serving those families through the adoption process, tracking and disbursing grant funds, taxes and accounting, charitable status, organizing Buddy Walks and preparing for and implementing our many fundraising efforts throughout the year.   Our Voice of Hope fund is where that money comes from.  Without this, we simply can not do what we do, and many lives will be lost as a result!

Reece's Rainbow is totally non profit. We do SO much on comparatively SO little. Our operational costs remain below 10%, which is hard to do because we want to be able to do so much more for the children!   We cut out a lot of really great opportunities each year due to cost.   Reece's Rainbow functions solely on private donations.   We've done everything possible to maximize each donation and give as much as possible to the waiting children and committed families.  At this time, we do not have any corporate or government funding, so we are completely dependent on your generous gifts to keep us going.

So what can you do to help this year's 21 Days of Hope children each receive their $1000 grant?

HOW TO HELP: 1) Donate! 2) Share this campaign via FB, Twitter, instagram, blog 3) Print out our 21 Days flier PDF and hand out to people locally 4) Choose a featured child and be a warrior for them on social media! 5) Purchase "21 Days/WDSD" items from our Cafepress store 6) Inquire about ADOPTING one of these children!

Thank you for all that you do to support Reece's Rainbow!

Celebrate WDSD16 with Reece's Rainbow!

World Down Syndrome Day 21.3.16

Be Sure to Order Your WDSD Gear NOW!

Order your  Reece's Rainbow WDSD clothing and gear NOW   so you will have it in time to wear it and share about it on WDSD 2016! World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD), observed on 21 March every year, is a global awareness day which has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012.   The date for WDSD being the 21st day of the 3rd month, was selected to signify the uniqueness of the triplication (trisomy) of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome. Get the "One Word that Describes Your Child with DS" button, t-shirts, totes and LOTS MORE!   Reece's Rainbow

2015 Social Media Awareness Graphics

You can add any of our awareness graphics to your blogs or right click and download to share on social media!
#downsyndrome #adoption #specialneeds #orphannomore http://reecesrainbow.org/awarenessbuttons
Thank you for all you do to support Reece's Rainbow!
See These and More Awareness Graphics ➲ ↝

Add This to Your Blog! <div align="center"><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org" title=""><img width="100%" src="http://reecesrainbow.org/wp-content/uploads/1000miles.jpg" style="border:none;" /></a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/awarenessbuttons" title="">Add This to Your Blog!</a></div> Add This to Your Blog! <div align="center"><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org" title=""><img width="100%" src="http://reecesrainbow.org/wp-content/uploads/shaketheworld.jpg" style="border:none;" /></a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/awarenessbuttons" title="">Add This to Your Blog!</a></div> Add This to Your Blog! <div align="center"><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org" title=""><img width="100%" src="http://reecesrainbow.org/wp-content/uploads/findfamily.jpg" style="border:none;" /></a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/awarenessbuttons" title="">Add This to Your Blog!</a></div> Add This to Your Blog! <div align="center"><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org" title=""><img width="100%" src="http://reecesrainbow.org/wp-content/uploads/greatthings.jpg" style="border:none;" /></a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/awarenessbuttons" title="">Add This to Your Blog!</a></div>

Add This to Your Blog! <div align="center"><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org" title=""><img width="100%" src="http://reecesrainbow.org/wp-content/uploads/stolemyheart.jpg" style="border:none;" /></a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/awarenessbuttons" title="">Add This to Your Blog!</a></div> Add This to Your Blog! <div align="center"><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org" title=""><img width="100%" src="http://reecesrainbow.org/wp-content/uploads/simplylive.jpg" style="border:none;" /></a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/awarenessbuttons" title="">Add This to Your Blog!</a></div> Add This to Your Blog! <div align="center"><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org" title=""><img width="100%" src="http://reecesrainbow.org/wp-content/uploads/smallthings.jpg" style="border:none;" /></a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/awarenessbuttons" title="">Add This to Your Blog!</a></div> Add This to Your Blog! <div align="center"><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org" title=""><img width="100%" src="http://reecesrainbow.org/wp-content/uploads/itmatters.jpg" style="border:none;" /></a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/awarenessbuttons" title="">Add This to Your Blog!</a></div>

I'm Thankful : A Blog by Some of Our RR Families : Reece's Rainbow Blog

Thank You for Grabbing This! <div align="center"><a href="http://blog.reecesrainbow.org/2013/11/imthankful.html" title=""><img width="100%" src="http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WilliamtheOutlaw/Poppies/givingthanks.png" style="border:none;" /></a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://blog.reecesrainbow.org/2013/11/imthankful.html" title="">Thank You for Grabbing This!</a></div>

Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Reece's Rainbow! (yes, even that British one!)  We hope you are enjoying a very thankful day with people you love, either in person or in your heart! ← Please grab our Giving Thanks button to share our 'I'm Thankful' post with your blog readers!

Carla Dobrovits
I am so thankful God chose me to be Henry's mommy from August 2011 to November 28, 2012. I am so thankful was able to hold him, feed him, seek medical care for him, and let him play on the floor next to me when I made dinner or did laundry. I am so thankful that he taught our whole family that every single human life is valuable no matter what and that love is the only thing that endures in this world. I am thankful I will see my sweet boy again in heaven one day.
Carla - Henry's mom


Laura Priest 
We are so thankful this holiday season for our beautiful Artem and for the ministry of Reece's Rainbow that allowed us to bring him into our family. It has been such a gift to watch him grow. We can't wait to continue to share through this ministry. What amazing things God is doing!  We have been so blessed to get the opportunity to love Artem and help him become the person God created. I am thankful to be able to share our story and the story of Reece's Rainbow with others.

Natalie Keller

Where to start?  There are so many reasons to be thankful for my little girl.  I'm thankful for all those who helped get her home.  I'm thankful for the ways we fit together as a family so well.  I'm thankful for the smiles and the kisses.  Mostly, I'm thankful for the ways she touches other people's lives.   She started school just as a second grade teacher came back from a maternity leave.  Her son was born with Down syndrome and this came as a surprise to her.  Seeing Sara daily has given her hope that a Down syndrome diagnosis is not the end of the world for her son.  I could write a book with all the ways Sara has touched people---some of whom we don't even know.  I'm thankful that I have been given the chance to be the mother of this amazing child. 

The Hannon Family

We are so blessed and thankful to have our four children home from Ukraine.  They are amazing little people who have flourished by leaps and bounds with unconditional love, good nutrition and proper medical care.  We are thankful to get to watch them grow and learn new things every day.  God has blessed our family beyond measure and we are so thankful to be Matthew, Michael, Sarah and Sydney's forever family.

Shea Drummond

I am thankful for my Oskar. Even on days when I feel I'm frazzled and failing at everything, he believes in me. Adopting him has been an incredible blessing. I am thankful that even though he never had to, he loves me. Oskar accepted me as his mother from the beginning and tells me we will always be best friends. I don't know what I did to deserve him, but I thank God for my baby boy. 

The Carr Family
We are thankful for all the people who are working so hard, both here and in her country, to help us bring our little one home! And we are so thankful that we are able to travel to meet her in person this December! Love, The Carr Family









The Ray Family
We are thankful for God sending us this beautiful, sweet boy! It wouldn't have been possible without Reece's Rainbow and their facilitation team! Thank you for helping us find Micah! :)
Love,
The Ray Family

Michelle Albrecht
We are thankful for our beautiful daughter from Ukraine, who is fully blind, and has opened our eyes to a whole new world.  She brings us joy and excitement every day. We are for ever Thankful to God for leading us to her.  We are also thankful to all those who donated to our FSP and who helped pray her home.  It was a challenging journey getting to our girl and it was the the support and love of friends, as well as our Savior, who helped us stay strong on that journey. For that we are grateful as today, we could not imagine life without our girl. She is home 5 months and is truly a blessing beyond words.

Mary Simons

Sometimes in life, the best gifts go unnoticed. This certainly could have held true for our family. Thankfully instead, our family said "yes" to the adventure, and in the process uncovered three, amazingly beautiful treasures. Three years later, we can't imagine our world without them. We can't even imagine a day without them. And our lives are certainly richer with their smiles, their love and their presence in our home. Today, and every day, we give thanks for five gifts given and three treasures found. 

Children of God :: Forgiven, Chosen and ADOPTED

“…an adopted child is no less a son or a daughter than my natural born children. And to apply that to a spiritual sense, I have learned that to be a son of God, makes me no less His son than His true Son.

Adoption has changed my life. But it has also changed my relationship with my Father in heaven.”

-Bill Schick, Director of Casa Vida Y Esperanza, an orphanage in Mexico

“Christianity is taking what has been purchased by the cross: the behavior of heaven, the nature of Jesus Christ, and transplanting it into the hearts of men and women down here on earth.

So that they behave not like this earth, but like heaven!

And so when this world sees them, they’re different; there is something odd about them, they’re from another realm.

What does it look like?

It’s noble… it’s brave… it’s courageous… it’s selfless… it is willing to spend itself for the weak!

…Because Jesus Christ will change a man… into a man that feels what Jesus Christ is feeling. And he cannot stay in suburbia USA anymore and do nothing.

Heroes are made because they are moved.”

-Eric Ludy, “Depraved Indifference”

"The Day I Will Never Forget" :: written by Genesis House

Genesis is 11 years old and her family just adopted two precious little ones, Gabe and Levi
Post reprinted by permission from The House Family Blog
Photos by Lindy House Photography

"The Day I Will Never Forget"

written by Genesis House

This morning we drove to the orphanage where Gabe and Levi have spent their 5-6 years of life. We're allowed to visit them twice a day. So first we went to Gabe's building and brought him outside, then my mom and I walked over to Levi's building/room... One of the nannies opened the door, we walked in and saw all of Levi's groupa sitting in what I call "the waiting room". As soon as they noticed us, the kids got so excited! Waving, smiling and laughing... The next thing I see is our little monkey walking out :) My mom and I got down on his level with arms wide open. Guess what he did? Hugged ME. (have I told you how much I love that kid??).

But the best part is still to come.

All of the nannies were taking the children outside... I wanted so badly to go with them! After we brought Levi outside to see his daddy and brother, we took him over to his groupa. Right when I set Levi down he ran to the other lil' ones... We had bubbles and of course a camera in our hands. They absolutely LOVED the bubbles and a couple of them got so hyper that we decided to put it away. We didnt want the nannies getting mad at us. Man were they upset! But after, I played with them and gave lots of hugs =) I wanted to take them all home!!





This little sweetie loved when I would take a picture and show it to her on the screen. She would point out who was in the photo smiling proudly



This little guy was craving attention





Levi's buddies



I especially wanted the little boy with down syndrome that Levi sat by most of the time.



I'm not sure what his name is but I would go tickle him, sit with him and he wanted to hold my hand. So sweet!






All of those special angels are just dying for love and attention! Levi's nannies are really nice. They let us take pictures and in fact, they were telling the kids to look and smile at the camera!





And that was the day I will never forget. The hugging, playing, and making those lonely children all smile and laugh was the best feeling.

147 MILLION

Genesis wristband says "147 million" which is how many orphans there are that are waiting for a HOME

Genesis Holding Gabe

MINUS ONE

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