Empowering The Future!
On Janary 14, 2011 the Cumberland Valley Girls' Basketball team played ball to support Climb Up for Down Syndrome. The team and the Boosters raised over $12,000!
The money they worked diligently to raise will help promote acceptance and awareness of people with Down syndrome in our community.
Thank you girls!
By Erica Dolson, Sentinel Reporter, January 13, 2011
[singlepic id=243 w=320 h=240 float=left]As an early intervention speech pathologist, Emily Player has seen her young clients struggle with basic tasks, from making sounds to speaking.
"They struggle every day with the simplest things," Player said. "(I) never experienced that except through the eyes of a therapist."
That was before she began training for Climb Up for Down Syndrome, her eight-day, 19,340-foot ascent to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
On Wednesday, Player left for Africa, taking with her clothing that she could wear in both the 80-degree heat and humidity at the base of the mountain and the below-freezing temperatures at the peak, and a banner from the Central Pennsylvania Down Syndrome Awareness Group (CPADSAG), the local organization that her climb will benefit.
Player approached Brian Guillaume, CPADSAG's president and co-founder, nearly two years ago to pitch the idea.
"My original reaction was, this could be a huge fundraiser for our group," Guillaume said.
CPADSAG was founded about three years ago with the mission of promoting acceptance and awareness of Down syndrome and empowering individuals with Down syndrome to meet and exceed their dreams.
The organization runs solely on donations and sponsors community social events, family focus nights and a grant program for individuals with Down syndrome.
So far, Player has raised about $5,100 of her $20,000 goal, she said.
Player's son Jared is named for one of her former clients with Down syndrome.
"He (that client) just brings a smile to my face," she said. "Great sense of humor. He love(s) life."
All of Player's clients with Down syndrome have a zest for life, and often a stubborn streak, she said.
"They just embrace life. They're game for anything," she said. "The reason I chose this group is I've seen the impact they made on the children in my case load."
Through her work in early intervention, Player has met children who attended a music class or received physical therapy equipment through CPADSAG's grant program and families who received support and became part of a network because of the family focus nights and social events, she said.
"I can't say I know what it feels like to walk in... (these) families' shoes, but I hope that my efforts in getting ready for this climb will be seen as a symbolic gesture of the supreme efforts these families make each and every day," Player said in a statement.
To train, Player has worked with a trainer for a couple of days each week and hiked the Flat Rock Trail near Newville, the highest altitude change in our area, she said.
"It's not much compared to Kilimanjaro, but it's what I had to work with," she said. "I think I've done everything I can do prepare."
Player will be in Africa until Jan. 28.
As an early intervention speech pathologist, Emily Player has seen her young clients struggle with basic tasks, from making sounds to speaking.
"They struggle every day with the simplest things," Player said. "(I) never experienced that except through the eyes of a therapist."
That was before she began training for Climb Up for Down Syndrome, her eight-day, 19,340-foot ascent to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
On Wednesday, Player left for Africa, taking with her clothing that she could wear in both the 80-degree heat and humidity at the base of the mountain and the below-freezing temperatures at the peak, and a banner from the Central Pennsylvania Down Syndrome Awareness Group (CPADSAG), the local organization that her climb will benefit.
Player approached Brian Guillaume, CPADSAG's president and co-founder, nearly two years ago to pitch the idea.
"My original reaction was, this could be a huge fundraiser for our group," Guillaume said.
CPADSAG was founded about three years ago with the mission of promoting acceptance and awareness of Down syndrome and empowering individuals with Down syndrome to meet and exceed their dreams.
The organization runs solely on donations and sponsors community social events, family focus nights and a grant program for individuals with Down syndrome.
So far, Player has raised about $5,100 of her $20,000 goal, she said.
Player's son Jared is named for one of her former clients with Down syndrome.
"He (that client) just brings a smile to my face," she said. "Great sense of humor. He love(s) life."
All of Player's clients with Down syndrome have a zest for life, and often a stubborn streak, she said.
"They just embrace life. They're game for anything," she said. "The reason I chose this group is I've seen the impact they made on the children in my case load."
Through her work in early intervention, Player has met children who attended a music class or received physical therapy equipment through CPADSAG's grant program and families who received support and became part of a network because of the family focus nights and social events, she said.
"I can't say I know what it feels like to walk in... (these) families' shoes, but I hope that my efforts in getting ready for this climb will be seen as a symbolic gesture of the supreme efforts these families make each and every day," Player said in a statement.
To train, Player has worked with a trainer for a couple of days each week and hiked the Flat Rock Trail near Newville, the highest altitude change in our area, she said.
"It's not much compared to Kilimanjaro, but it's what I had to work with," she said. "I think I've done everything I can do prepare."
Player will be in Africa until Jan. 28.
On September 18, 2010, 390 people gathered at Carlisle Area High School to participate in the 3rd Annual Carlisle Area Buddy Walk®! The Buddy Walk® is a one mile walk that promotes acceptance and awareness of people with Down syndrome in our community.
Together we raised over $17,000!
The Boiling Springs softball team rallies around a teammate's brother.
Friday, May 07, 2010
BY ADAM KULIKOWSKI akulikowski45@gmail.com
Boiling Springs coach Steve Darchicourt had every reason April 28 to be proud of his softball team.
Jordan Darchicourt pitched a three-inning no-hit shutout -- spoiled only by a lone walk to the first batter she faced.
And the Bubblers clubbed Harrisburg 15-0.
Both certainly brought a smile to the coach's face.
But it is what the team did after they came off the field that mattered most. They attended a fundraiser for the Central Pennsylvania Down Syndrome Awareness Group at Chili's Restaurant.
For the Bubblers, the nonprofit holds special meaning: Sophomore third baseman Kait Fox's younger brother, Carson, has Down syndrome.
Throughout the season, the Bubblers have made the 5-year-old Carson part of the team, visiting him in the stands after games.
But on April 28, the team did more.
After attending the event at Chili's -- which donated 10 percent of proceeds from the meals during the nonprofit's event -- Darchicourt and the team decided to hold their own fundraiser to help support the organization.
The team will host a car wash May 15 at Metro Bank at 65 Ashland Ave. in Carlisle to raise additional funds.
It says a lot about the character of the girls and how they have come together as one team in such a short period of time.
Each player has different challenges every day on the field, but participating with the organization brings the message home that there are far greater challenges for us all to take on besides those in the game of softball.
The gesture nearly made Heather Fox-Kauffman, Carson and Kait's mother and CPADSAG co-founder, cry.
"I'm totally overwhelmed with this group of girls," Fox-Kauffman said, "how they want to give back to their community and help where ever they can. My heart just is overwhelmed.
"And I'm amazed at their willingness to give up a Saturday to wash cars and get nothing out of it personally except the satisfaction that the proceeds will go toward helping the individuals with Down syndrome."
Fox-Kauffman, along with Brian and Cori Guillaume and Andy Smarr, founded the nonprofit in 2008 as a way to collect donations for a fundraising walk to raise awareness for Down syndrome. Proceeds are used to provide grants to families that aid in promoting personal development of individuals with Down syndrome.
For more information on the Central Pennsylvania Down Syndrome Awareness Group, go to www.cpadsag. org
The Central PA Down Syndrome Awareness Group was founded in 2008. Current board members are:
Our families would like to help other families just like ours. The Central PA Down Syndrome Awareness Group will allow us to do just that.
CPADSAG is not your typical non-profit – we do not have paid staff or overhead! 100% of your donation is used to enhance the presence of individuals with Down syndrome in the community!
Central PA Down Syndrome Awareness Group · PO Box 1391, Carlisle, PA 17013 · 717-609-1440 · Email Us
