BY GRACE WAHLE
PALS Advancement Coordinator
As Summer approaches, PALS Staff and Volunteer Leaders are busily planning some excellent programs. Each PALS Program will incorporate some core programming, components that are led at every program across the country. This framework keeps our mission central to our programs, especially as we continue to widen our reach. One of the core components of PALS is The Congratulations Project.
The Congratulations Project was created in 2012 as an opportunity to share about the great value that people with Down syndrome bring to this world in their own voices. The project has grown into a core program component of PALS and an initiative to expand the PALS Family across the world.
The impact of The Congratulations Project can be seen in three primary areas: The Experience, The Connection, and The Mission.
The Experience
During each program, participants write a letter of congratulations. Participants with Down syndrome have the opportunity to build self advocacy and reflect on their lives... Hearing the words of individuals with Down syndrome, volunteers learn more about their Partner’s perspectives, talents, and adversity faced.
The Connection
PALS works with a network of Congratulations Project Distribution Partners to make sure that families welcoming a baby with Down syndrome receive one of our packages. From the moment a new family receives a Congratulations Project letter, they are welcomed into the PALS Family with open arms. We encourage them to stay connected up until their first experience at Camp PALS and beyond. Connecting Congratulations Project families to the PALS Family creates communities across generations and around the world. No matter what, our Congratulations Project families will always find they are welcome at PALS.
“Dear PALS, we were gifted a PALS Congratulations Project letter just shortly after my son’s birth. Our Baby Milo was a birth diagnosis, so we were just a little surprised! When your beautiful PALS package arrived, we read the letter over and over and over again and it was one of the most special things to us. Thank you for this service that you provide. Our letter is cherished!”
- Congratulations Project Family
The Mission
Sharing the handwritten words of individuals with Down syndrome has the power to rewrite the narrative around disability. Through letter distribution and sales of The Congratulations Project Book, the Congratulations Project provides individuals well beyond the PALS, Down syndrome, and disability cohorts the opportunity to learn about Down syndrome from someone with the diagnosis. This is paramount to building understanding, fostering inclusion, and changing attitudes.
We love sharing the ways in which The Congratulations Project contributes to inspiring a world of belonging for all throughout the year. We can’t wait to kick off our first of 18 programs this summer and see The Congratulations Project in action as we change attitudes and transform lives.
