World Down Syndrome Day was all about the socks, but now we are all about the er…. pants! Well maternity underwear to be precise.
We have had a very generous donation of brand new stock from a well known local company and we are raising funds for our group by selling it via our Ebay page.
100% of the money from sales will benefit our group, so be sure to tell all your friends to check out our smalls!
Huddersfield Down Syndrome Support Group expand their programme of educational opportunities for their members as they launch a Lego Learning programme!
With the help of local charity Fairy Bricks, HDSSG offer a structured learning programme using the hugely popular Duplo and Lego construction toy for children with Down Syndrome.
Siblings will also be included in the family friendly sessions as bricks are supplied for fun free play (members welcome to just play too if they prefer!)
Open to ALL our HDSSG members – no upper or lower age limits!
Tell everyone you know to pop in to New Street’s Yorkshire Building Society between the 13th – 27th February and Huddersfield Down Syndrome Support Group could be awarded up to £500 from the YBS Charitable Foundation.
We will be up against 2 other great local charities so every vote counts!
Huddersfield Down Syndrome Support Group invite members/parents/carers old & new to our Annual General Meeting on Sunday 12th October at Greenfield’s Family Centre, Dalton.
The venue is child friendly so please do bring little ones! We will also provide drinks and nibbles.
Arrive for a 2pm start, the full address of the venue is Greenfield’s Family Centre, Dalton Green Lane, Dalton, Huddersfield.
Please do come along if you can and help shape YOUR support group. New volunteers ALWAYS welcome!
If you can’t make it but have requests/ideas of how funds can be best spent please do email our regular address.
Hundreds of hand prints needed by 1st June… To celebrate the Grand Depart cycle race passing through Huddersfield weekend of 5th and 6th July, HDSSG are creating a pallet sized piece of artwork using only hand prints of member families.
We are reproducing the HDSSG logo, which will make up part of a Giant Community Jersey (72 pallets) representing a wide range of community groups within Huddersfield, and will be laid out at Bridge Mills, Holmfirth the weekend of the event. For more info about the Community Jersey follow this link http://festival.yorkshire.com/events/giant-community-cycling-jersey
How you can get involved:
1. Get everyone in your family to make hand prints – at least 2 A4 sheets per person, mostly green, but yellow and brown needed too. Put the name of each person on the back of each sheet.
2. Come along to the Watershed on Sunday 1st June at 1.30pm to make your hand prints and help construct the giant logo – this is straight after the Artful Playground event, if you’re attending, bring a packed lunch and stay on for a little while.
3. If you can’t make the Watershed 1st June, make and/or hand in your hand prints at Little Tiddlers and Up Club before the end of May.
4. Alternatively, make your prints at home and send them to the Watershed fao: Community Jersey by the end of May. Address: 22 Bridge Street, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield, HD7 5JN
One of our mums has been very busy organising a fabulous raffle to raise funds for HDSSG. There are some great prizes up for grabs and we would like to thank the businesses and organisations that have donated prizes to us!
In 2014 Tony Holland and Steve Major are going to run 12 back to back Ultramarathons in the UK. This will be achieved by running 50 kilometres in each of the twelve UK regions over a 12 day period.
Steven and Tony will be completing these events to raise awareness and money for Disability Activity as well as local Down Syndrome / Autism charities in each region. The Yorkshire & Humberside leg will be run in aid of our very own Huddersfield Down Syndrome Support Group!!!
We cannot thank Steve & Tony enough for the amazing challenge they are undertaking that will benefit not only our group but many more charities. We will look forward to bringing you more news on this as we hear it.
Firefighters from across West Yorkshire took part in one of the biggest events in the emergency services calendar – the annual MJ Quinn UK Firefighters Sailing Challenge.
Huddersfield Watch Commander Darren Bagley has led West Yorkshire’s sailing team since 2006, and since then the 32-strong crew has gone from strength to strength. The team has raised over £13000 to date. Each year the service enters four teams in the three-day event, which took place in The Solent from April 30th to May 2nd 2013.
Raising thousands of pounds for charities over the years, the team won the event in 2009 and 2012. This is the second year running that the generous firefighters have supported Huddersfield Down Syndrome Support Group. In 2012 they raised £1220 and this year an incredible £1713 was donated to our charity, bringing a total raised of £2933!!
We cannot thank you enough for your generosity!!
We would also like to thank West Yorkshire fire service sailing team’s kind sponsors – Craig Leslie of The Woodman Inn Thunderbridge, Chris Lee of Lucas Lee and partners chartered surveyors and Mike Gallagher of nationwide bathrooms.com. Also sponsoring the team were Concerto support services of Cheshire, thanks to Kevan Davey.
21st March 2013 marks the 8th anniversary of World Down Syndrome Day. A global awareness day which has been recognised by the United Nations since 2012.
Shabang Inclusive Learning, based at The Watershed in Slaithwaite and Huddersfield Down Syndrome Support Group have created a short accessible film – “Like A Rainbow”. This five minute moving photo montage shows images of local children and young people with Down Syndrome pursuing their interests and hobbies and enjoying life like anyone else.
The film will be emailed out to schools across the country as a free resource to use in assemblies, discussion groups and citizenship classes along with some simple ideas to celebrate the day.
Kim Reuter from Shabang said” We hope our film will encourage people to see our children as children first – children who are high achievers, enthusiasts and experts – children who also happen to have Down Syndrome. “
Leanne Davies from HDSSG said “We always celebrate World Down Syndrome Day on March 21st – the date represents the 3rd copy of chromosome 21 which characterises Down Syndrome. This year the theme is ‘Lots of socks’ and we are inviting schools and their pupils to celebrate by wearing odd socks! This is a fun way to raise awareness. ” Local schools who have taken up the idea so far include Royds Hall High School, Thurstonland First School and Wilberlee Primary School.
Kim from Shabang says “Rather than seeing our children as ‘different’ – we consider them to be exceptional”
Exceptional indeed – members of HDSSG , who feature in ‘Like A Rainbow” include Jack Davies who models for Eureka Children’s Museum and has been featured in National Newspapers, Joanne Kempley, Aisling Connelly, Jack Drennan, Zoe Rank, Rebekah Hill and Ruben Reuter who will be competing in the Special Olympics Summer Games this Summer, not to mention the long list of members who have acquired their Duke of Edinburgh Awards. Also Sophie Crossland a local dancer with tv appearances on BBC’s the One Show. Ruben has recently been featured in a CBBC channel My Life Documentary series which will be re run on World Down Syndrome Day at 9.05am. He is thought to be the first young person with Down Syndrome to ever narrate a TV programme.
Huddersfield Down Syndrome Support Group, run entirely by parent volunteers, organises a wide range of activities such at Yoga, Literacy and Numeracy classes, swimming and theatre trips and is currently developing a social enterprise for its Post 16 members. Leanne Davies HDSSG’s Communication Officer has developed a website packed with information and news, as well as lively social networking sites which connect with regional and national groups across the Down Syndrome global community.
HDSSG keeps up to date with emerging ideas and current research and also produces information packs for new families.
“Down Syndrome effects 1 in 1000 babies and so our numbers are always growing ” says Leanne “ however we also extend our membership to local children with additional needs with rarer diagnosis who may not have a support group of their own.”
So, now on Thursday 21st March , when people comment on you wearing odd socks – you can tell them why!
Happy World Down Syndrome Day 2013!
♦ Please enjoy Like A Rainbow made by our fabulous friends at Shabang!
You can also watch rating busting programme ‘Breaking Free’ produced by Markthree Media featuring Huddersfield’s Ruben Reuter and 2 other youngsters with Down Syndrome. The show follows the trio through their summer, can they acheive their goals?
Breaking Free will be aired again by popular demand on the Cbbc channel at 9.05am on World Down Syndrome Day. It will also be available on the BBC iPlayer for 7 days following.
Down Syndrome International invites everyone to wear lots of socks to raise awareness on WDSD! See the poster below for more:
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