Smile! From time-to-time we offer free photo shoots for DSACK families. Families can download their photos free of charge, and DSACK can brighten up our website, brochures, and other marketing materials with beautiful faces. It’s a win-win for everyone! You can check our home page calendar periodically to catch our next photo day. If you are in our database, be sure to check out email blasts; we will also announce future dates via our social media outlets.
If you are a photographer who would like to donate your services, we would be most grateful. DSACK will work with you to organize the family photo day and have a representative available to assist, if you desire. We promise you will love meeting our families, and we will love sharing your name!
DSACK’s biannual New Parent Dinner is for DSACK parents who have a child with Down syndrome younger than 3 years old. DSACK treats new parents to a quaint dinner and opportunity to get to know other parents and DSACK staff. Parents go back to their families refreshed and encouraged by getting to know new friends who may be on a similar journey. Parents are responsible for securing their own child care.
Because individuals with Down syndrome have three copies of chromosome 21, World Down Syndrome Day is celebrated on the 21st day of the third month. This day – recognized by the United Nations General Assembly – is an opportunity for the entire Down syndrome community to come together to celebrate those with Down syndrome, while also educating and spreading awareness.
Whether we go to Frankfort to raise awareness among our state’s legislators, observe the day closer to home with fun activities, or just wear our crazy socks, DSACK joins the celebration each year. Keep watch for announcements about how you can make a difference on this important day.
DSACK's Coffee Chats are our spin on the commitment to build relationships among those who celebrate the joys that Down syndrome can bring. These periodic Coffee Chats also provide an opportunity to hear experts talk about the topics most important to you. Such topics include social and emotional best practices, Kentucky guardianship and conservatorship, STABLE accounts, behavioral issues, the Supreme Court and inclusion, and so much more. The most up-to-date and pertinent
information is always provided.
Our most important event of the year is a day set aside for loads of family fun. DSACK’s Fall Family Fun Day and Walk is a carnival-like event complete with games for all ages, kid-friendly activities, inflatables, food trucks, live music and so much more. Not to mention, at the beginning of the day is our 1-mile fundraising walk that brings together 2,000 people to celebrate and ensure that DSACK continues to serve families, schools and communities.
Held at the Masterson Station Park fairgrounds in Lexington, this event is by far our largest fundraiser of the year, featuring as many as 100 teams that come together to raise the funds necessary to help DSACK offer its programs and events free of charge to families. It’s also our way of connecting with others who share the same experiences. It’s no longer one family going the course alone with uncertainty and fear; it’s more than 2,000 of us coming together to celebrate and ensure that DSACK continues to influence additional families, schools, employers and communities.
Each year in the spring, we come together for a night of glitz and glam to celebrate DSACK. Dubbed the Nothing Down About It Gala, this themed event features cocktails, dinner, and a live and silent auction. But more importantly, it offers the chance for our community and our friends to support the organization and all it has to offer throughout the year.
Through business sponsorships, community support of our live and silent auctions, and ticket sales, the Nothing Down About It Gala helps DSACK continue to offer all its programs and events free of charge to individuals with Down syndrome and their families. It represents our second largest fundraiser of the year!
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