About Us

Mission

The PALS Organization aims to offer young adults with Down syndrome the best experience of their year while providing a variety of new opportunities, exciting activities, and a chance to become more independent. We strive to create an impassioned community: campers, counselors, parents, and friends who encourage each other and grow together. We also attempt to make a meaningful impact in the Down syndrome community at large (see our guiding principles).

Executive Board

The Executive Board manages the direction and vision of the PALS Organization. Individuals serve on the executive board for renewable two-year terms. These board members supervise each of the PALS Programs, approve overall budgets and expansion plans, and manage the evaluation, finance, and technology needs of the organization as a whole. Our current Executive Board members are Jenni Newbury (chair), Jason Toff, Josh Stein, and Abby Kolker.

Counselor Board

All programs are supported by the PALS Counselor Board, a group of former counselors who oversee the organization's continued development and impact in the larger Down syndrome community. Board members serve one-year, renewable terms. Our current board members are: Daniel De Zeeuw (chair), Darris Lee, Jessica Trief, Jim Finegan, and Robert McRae, Jordan McCollough, Ivan Gonzalez, and Alex Urquhart.

History

PALS was founded in 2004 by three then-high school-aged students, Jason Toff and Josh Stein, from Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Jenni Newbury, a sibling and advocate from Hillsborough, New Jersey. The Program was conceived as an extension of a social integration club that Jason and Josh had started at their high school. For its first summer, Camp PALS welcomed an intrepid group of 16 individuals with Down syndrome and 16 counselors to Cabrini College for a week of fun and friends.

Over the past eight summers, the program has grown annually, and this past summer Camp PALS hosted 113 campers and over 160 volunteer staff. 2011 also marked the addition of a new Program to the PALS family,PALS Tours, Organized by two long-serving counselors and and conceived as an alumni program with social skills and vocational training, the 4-day long Program welcomed 16 individuals with Down syndrome and 20 volunteer staff to the DC area. This coming summer, PALS will welcome a third Program: Camp PALS West, and the Camp PALS program at Cabrini College will be renamed Camp PALS East. PALS Tours will also add a second 4-day long Program.

PALS is a registered 501(c)(3 nonprofit organization.