New year, continuous support.
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We want to wish you a Happy New Year filled with love, opportunity and bright horizons! Our FOUNDATION members truly embodied the word “family” this past year by rallying support and uplifting each other in countless ways. As we navigate into 2021, The FOUNDATION wants to ensure our community has the support necessary to thrive. We are exited to continue our weekly virtual programming, keep scrolling for all the details!
In addition to weekly virtual programs and socially-distanced gatherings, we want to help support your business. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you need help finding resources or just want to spread the word about your services.
We also want to offer financial support to those affected by the pandemic through our COVID Family Relief Fund. Apply below.
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January
- Monday, January 11 - Bowling Committee Meeting (7:00pm-8:30pm)
- Thursday, January 14 - Mom's Night Out @ Lake Eola (7:00pm)
- Saturday, January 16 - Play Date at Phelps Park (10:00am)
- Monday, January 18 - Mom's Night In (9:00pm)
Weekly Programs
- Mondays - iCan! Work Lunch and Learn (1:45pm)
- Tuesdays - Virtual Zumba with Elyse (4:00pm - 5:00pm)
- Wednesdays - Virtual Club 321 (4:00pm-5:00pm)
- Thursdays - Virtual T21 Social Network (18+) (4:00pm-5:00pm)
- Fridays - F^3: Fantastic Foundation Friends (4:00pm) and (4:30pm)
February 2021
- Sunday, February 21, 2021 - Tour of Champions Bowl-A-Thon
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New Bowl-A-Thon 2021 Incentive!
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A sweet afternoon with your loved ones is the perfect way to celebrate the New Year – enter today!
Our next Bowl-A-Thon incentive will have you exploring your wild side at the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens and indulging your sweet tooth with a $50 Gift Card to Wondermade! This incentive package makes for the perfect afternoon with loved ones so be sure to spread the word and enter to win today!
Here's how it works:
- Donors will earn 1 entry for every $20 donated.
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Team Captains will earn 1 entry for every $100 raised.
*Incentive runs from January 6-15*
Register your BOWL-A-THON 2021 team TODAY!
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Bowl-A-Thon 2021 Corporate Cup
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Join the CORPORATE CUP CHALLENGE with your coworkers and become an Ambassador of Inclusion by fundraising for our 2021 Tour of Champions Bowl-A-Thon!
Diversity and inclusion matter in the workplace - we'd love to see YOUR place of business join us during our inaugural year of the Corporate Cup Challenge! This year we have opened the door for our business community to show their support for our mission. We are asking employees, associates and team members from all companies to join in the fun and create a team to take on our CORPORATE CUP CHALLENGE for our 2021 Tour of Champions Bowl-A-Thon!
You can participate VIRTUALLY OR IN-PERSON!
Teams consist of (5) people max.
Sign up a team or two and join others in the community who believe in inclusion and diversity!
Bring your co-workers or CHALLENGE them to see who can raise the most money! We have GREAT incentives and a lot of fun on February 21, 2021 at Boardwalk Bowl! Hope we will see YOUR place of business there!
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Announcing Our New Website!
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The FOUNDATION's new website is live and we are beyond excited to share it with our members! Our revamped site is your go-to fountain of information for everything happening in our organization. Check out the newly unveiled 2019 Annual Report, countdown to our 2021 Bowl-A-Thon fundraiser, apply for scholarships, read about our programs, events and more!
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Winter Wonderland Holiday Party - We had a wonderful time!
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We had a magical time celebrating the holidays at Give Kids The World during our 2020 Winter Wonderland party. This socially-distanced, outdoor event brought us to a glittering wonderland of lights, music, hot chocolate and more! It was wonderful to see everyone enjoy themselves as we joined together and rejoiced in the holiday spirit. Thank you to our outstanding FOUNDATION family for joining us for a truly unique evening.
Special thank you to our volunteers for ensuring our families had a magical time and capturing timeless memories!
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Date: Saturday, January 16
Time: 10:00am
Location: Phelps Park
1200 N. Phelps Avenue, Winter Park, FL 32789
Get some sun and fresh air at beautiful Phelps Park for a morning play date! Frolic around and make some new friends while staying socially distanced - talk about a great way to start the new year. Play dates are usually for our younger members but we want to start off the year by extending an invitation to everyone that loves the outdoors! Bring a blanket, picnic, your favorite ball or frisbee and we'll see you then!
Thank you to Suzanne Sherrill for planning this fun outing!
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No time to spare!
Join our 2021 Bowl-A-Thon Committee
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Join the Bowl-A-Thon Committee TODAY.
We meet through Zoom!
We've got no time to SPARE, Bowl-A-Thon Committee Members! Our biggest fundraiser of the year is right around the corner. We had a striking good time during our last meeting as we joined forces to make our 2021 Bowl-A-Thon the best one yet. Keep up the AMAZING work gathering auction items and spreading the word about our mission.
We are looking for committee members that are dedicated to making a difference and can help with the items below:
- Securing auction items.
- Reaching out to families and registering teams.
- Corporate Sponsorships.
- Assisting with marketing roles.
Ready to get involved? If you would like to be part of this essential team which puts on our ONLY FUNDRAISER for the year, please email:
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Our next meeting is virtual through Zoom on:
Monday, January 11th at 7:00pm
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Meeting ID: 997 6924 6743
Passcode: 058317
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Register your bowling team TODAY!
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Join our Bowl-A-Thon today and participate VIRTUALLY or IN-PERSON!
Register your Bowl-A-Thon team TODAY and join us as we continue to strike DOWN barriers to inclusion in 2021. This event is our BIGGEST FUNdraiser of the year and it helps us provide life-changing scholarships, programs, events, and more to our members.
Your participation not only ensures our mission, it is also a great way to become an active member with The FOUNDATION in 2021. An active membership grants access to scholarships and other programs - it's a win-win!
Roll with us - Click the button below to join!
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Mom's Night Out at Lake Eola
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Date: Thursday, January 14
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Anthony's Thornton Park
Address: 100 N Summerlin Ave, Orlando, FL 32801
Details: The FOUNDATION will cover $15 towards your meal!
Parking: There's a parking lot next to the 7/11 gas station. Street parking is limited, close to Burton's Bar.
Calling all moms! Join us for a fun evening in Downtown Orlando during our January Mom's Night Out! We will begin our night at Anthony's Thornton Park and enjoy a stroll around beautiful Lake Eola! Let's start the year off by catching up and relaxing together.
Flexibility is key when providing for our members. In case a virtual event is more your style, join us for our Mom's Night In on Monday, January 18 at 9:00pm on Zoom. The link will be available on our private Facebook page and on Meetup. Whether in-person or virtually, we cannot wait to reconnect with everyone!
Please register by Tuesday, January 12
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Check out our YouTube channel!
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Have you checked out the FOUNDATION's YouTube page? We invite you to visit it TODAY! It has fun videos from past events, outings and programs. Subscribe, like and share our content to spread the FOUNDATION's mission to bring opportunity to people with outstanding potential! Stay up-to-date on our latest recap videos, Bowl-A-Thon "how-to" videos and MORE!
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The FOUNDATION would like to give a warm welcome to our new Program and Development Manager, Robin Longley!
Her background is in event planning with over sixteen years of experience in Central Florida, Washington and New York.
She has been thankful to be a part of helping: Fort Drum Welfare & Recreation, Northwest Burn Foundation, SPCA of Central Florida (Pet Alliance), Children’s Home Society of Florida and The Faine House, and Dave’s House. Her event experience encompasses everything from USO shows, Fourth of July celebrations with fireworks, bowl-a-thons, firefighter boot drives, wine tastings & silent auctions, FurBall Galas, Paws in the Park pet walks, online cat fundraisers, virtual house parties, and last but not least, the last three Faine House Run for Hope 5K’s.
“The passion and drive that come from working in non-profits and the ability to change lives for the better has always been a motivation of working in the non-profit field.”
Robin looks forward to bringing this energy and compassion to Down Syndrome Foundation of Florida and helping our families. She resides in Dr. Phillips with her husband, Andy, of 22 years and three children, Connor - 11, Audrey – 8 and Hunter the Cat -4 (adopted and four footed).
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Thank you, Erin - we will miss you!
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Erin Goding is leaving the FOUNDATION to pursue her dreams! We have LOVED having her as part of our team and know that our families feel the same. Her time with us has been truly impactful and we cannot thank her enough for helping us become even BETTER than ever!
A few of her many accomplishments include guiding us through the completion of our first Annual Report, creating our online programming over the past nine months, and bringing our T21 and Club 321 programs to life prior to the pandemic. Behind the scenes, Erin has helped create training documents for all of our programs and events, co-written grants and many other projects to help us become more organized and professional. She may not always be part of our staff but she will always be part of our FOUNDATION Family.
Erin has decided to take a new career path and pursue Project Management in the corporate world. It is an exciting transition for her and we wish her only the best. We know her new employer and team will benefit from her beautiful personality and professionalism.
Thank you, Erin, for sharing your talents and for always putting our families first. You have a true gift for working with our members and we know they will miss you as much as our team, Board of Directors, volunteers and community partners surely will!
“You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh the Places You'll Go!
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Virtual Zumba with Elyse!
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When: Every Tuesday
Time: 4:00pm
Location: Virtual meeting using Zoom - can be found below, on our private Facebook page, Meetup, or by emailing:
Elyse Mundelein will be teaching a virtual Zumba class! We will post the Zoom information of the event below or on our private Facebook page. No experience needed, just get ready to dance and have fun!
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Join our Club 321 virtual meet-up for middle and high-schoolers! |
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When: Every Wednesday
Time: 4:00pm-5:00pm
Location: Virtual meeting using Zoom - can be found below, on our private Facebook page, Meetup, or by emailing,
This is a great opportunity for our middle and high school group to socialize, engage, and connect with each other. We'll have something new and different each week!
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Virtual T21 Social Network (18+)
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When: Every Thursday
Time: 4:00pm-5:00pm
Location: Virtual meeting using Zoom - can be found below, on our private Facebook page, Meetup, or by emailing,
This is a great opportunity for our adult group to socialize, engage, and connect with each other. We'll have something new and different each week!
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F^3 : Fantastic Foundation Friends
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When: Select Fridays
Time: 4:00pm-4:30pm and 4:30pm-5:00pm
Location: Virtual meeting using Zoom - can be found below, on our private Facebook page, Meetup, or by emailing,
POWER UP!
This program will provide opportunities for small groups to form relationships and friendships in a virtual environment. Sessions are capped at 5 participants to allow for deeper engagement and a more personal experience. We'll build conversational skills and independence with the goal of forming true friendships over time. Each session will be offered to different age groups. Ex: Girls aged 11-14 for one session and boys aged 15-18 for a different session, women 25-30, etc.
Schedule:
January 1 - OFF for New Years
January 8 at 4:00pm Girls 15-18
January 8 at 4:30pm Boys 15-18
January 15 at 4:00pm Women 19-24
January 15 at 4:30pm Boys 19-24
January 22 at 4:00pm Women 25-30
January 22 at 4:30pm Men 25-30
January 29 at 4:00pm Women 31+
January 29 at 4:30pm Women 31+
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Let's get social!
Follow us on social media for more information and to stay up-to-date on our upcoming events.
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