Connexions Blog

"Building stronger communities by sharing inspiration, advice, and best practices that work".



Ds-connex Presents: The 11th Annual #DownSyndromeDads Contest!

In honor of Father’s Day and great dads of kids with disabilities everywhere, ds-connex is excited to announce the 11th Annual #DownSyndromeDads Contest to recognize and celebrate these amazing fathers!  

Contest Overview

Nominate the fantastic #DownSyndromeDads in your life by sending a photo and brief (one to three sentences), meaningful message about them to ds-connex. Please send your submissions to contests@ds-connex.org.

All photos and descriptions will be posted to a 2024 #DownSyndromeDads photo album on the ds-connex Facebook page. All nominators and #DownSyndromeDads are encouraged to promote the contest and ask friends and family members on Facebook to vote for them by liking their photo in the 2024 #DownSyndromeDads album. 

New this year, the top FOUR dads with the most likes will each receive a $100 physical Amazon gift card. The top overall winner will also receive a $200 team donation to their walk team. (To be eligible for the team donation, the team page must be hosted on a Stride website.)

Details for This Year’s Contest

The ds-connex team will collect #DownSyndromeDads nominations until midnight EDT on June 10th. The Facebook album will be posted on or after June 11th, at which time voting will begin. We will notify nominators via email when the album is posted and voting begins, and we will conclude voting on Monday, June 17th at 10:00am EDT, when the winners of the contest will be determined. The winners will be chosen based on the total of likes (or reactions, to include “love,” etc.) on the photos in the #DownSyndromeDads photo album on the ds-connex Facebook page during the voting period. The #DownSyndromeDads contest participants must observe Facebook’s policies. Please note that in order for your entry to be included in the voting, we must receive your entry by midnight on June 10th. We will happily include entries submitted after 6/10 in the Facebook album, but they will not be eligible for the prizes. Results of the contest will be announced on our Facebook page on Monday, June 17th.

The monetary donations must go to a team for a Down syndrome fundraising walk event hosted on a Stride. If your team is not registered at the time of the drawing, it is the winner’s responsibility to notify ds-connex when their team is registered in order to receive the donation. 

Please note…

We welcome participants in last year’s contest to re-enter with a new photo! 

By nominating someone for the #DownSyndromeDads contest, you are giving ds-connex permission to edit your submission for grammar and/or length, and to share your submission via the Connexions blog and across multiple social platforms, in order to raise awareness and appreciation of fathers in the Down syndrome community and all they do. The #DownSyndromeDads contest is sponsored by ds-connex. 

We look forward to seeing this year's #DownSyndromeDads entries for all the awesome and amazing Dads!


Our Mother's Day contest; share your letter of love to your kid(s) for a chance to win a $50 gift card or team donation!

This year, in honor of Mother’s Day, ds-connex invites moms to send us a letter you might write to your children, sharing with them how special it is to be their mom. Like most everything, motherhood has its ups and downs. One moment we’re bragging about our kids on a local Facebook group for moms, the next we’re texting our best friends about the latest shenanigans our kids have thrown our way. No matter what the level of chaos, one thing is for certain: we are moms because of our kids and we wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

Beginning April 22nd, submit your letters and an accompanying photo to contests@ds-connex.org. We will collect submissions through May 9th and share your stories and photos on the ds-connex social media channels. All entries will be posted to an album on the ds-connex Facebook page on May 10th. Three winners will be randomly selected to receive their choice of a $50 Amazon e-gift card or a $50 donation to their Down syndrome fundraising team. 

Contest details:

Contest entries should be submitted via email to contests@ds-connex.org, beginning 4/22/24. All submissions will require a photo with their letter, which should be 6-10 sentences max, and the entry should include the mother’s name and email address. Three winners will be randomly drawn on 5/10/24 and winners will be notified via email. Winners will have their choice of a $50 Amazon e-gift card or a donation to their Down syndrome fundraising team. By submitting an entry, you are granting ds-connex permission to share your photo and story on our social media channels and website. Please note that ds-connex may edit your entry for grammar or length.


World Down Syndrome Day 2024: Tell Us Why You Celebrate for a Chance to Win!

World Down Syndrome Day 2024 is quickly approaching, and we can’t wait to celebrate! WDSD is such a great opportunity to not only celebrate your loved one with Down syndrome, but also to practice advocacy and raise awareness in your community! It’s so fun to hear about all of the different celebrations that take place across the country!

This year, ds-connex wants to know once again why your family recognizes World Down Syndrome Day! Who are you celebrating? Why is this day special? How will you spread the word this year? Send us your stories, along with a photo, so everyone can see how you celebrate! Your stories just might inspire another family to participate and acknowledge the significance of 3/21. This is how we build and strengthen our community!

We will feature your entries across our social media channels, beginning 3/1. You will also be eligible to win one of four $50 Amazon e-gift card so that you can host a party for your family on World Down Syndrome Day! Prize winners will be randomly drawn on March 9th, and winners will be notified by email and announced on our social media.

Don’t delay - send us your entries today, and let’s get this celebration started! 

Contest details:

Starting Friday, February 2nd send your entries to contests@ds-connex.org. Entries must include information about why your family observes World Down Syndrome Day (who you celebrate, why the day is special, how you plan to spread the word), along with a photo. We must receive your entries by Tuesday, February 28th to be eligible for the prize drawing. Four prizes will be awarded, and winners will be randomly selected on March 7th. If you are one of the four randomly selected winners, your gift card will be emailed to the address you used to enter the contest. By submitting content for the World Down Syndrome Day campaign, you are granting ds-connex permission to edit your submission for grammar and/or length, and use the submitted photo and story in ds-connex social media posts and website. This contest is sponsored by ds-connex. 


Ds-connex Presents: The 10th Annual #DownSyndromeDads Contest!

By Jen Franklin Kearns, ds-connex team member

In honor of Father’s Day and great dads of kids with disabilities everywhere, ds-connex is excited to announce the 10th Annual #DownSyndromeDads Contest to recognize and celebrate these amazing fathers!  

Contest Overview

Nominate the fantastic #DownSyndromeDads in your life by sending a photo and brief (one to three sentences), meaningful message about them to ds-connex. Please send your submissions to contests@ds-connex.org.

All photos and descriptions will be posted to a 2023 #DownSyndromeDads photo album on the ds-connex Facebook page. All nominators and #DownSyndromeDads are encouraged to promote the contest and ask friends and family members on Facebook to vote for them by liking their photo in the 2023 #DownSyndromeDads album. 

The 1st prize winner will receive a $250 donation to their Down syndrome fundraising team along with their choice of a $100 Home Depot or Amazon gift card. The second prize winner will be awarded a $100 team donation along with their choice of a $50 Home Depot or Amazon gift card.

Details for This Year’s Contest

The ds-connex team will collect #DownSyndromeDads nominations until midnight EDT on June 12th. The Facebook album will be posted on or after June 13th, at which time voting will begin. We will notify nominators via email when the album is posted and voting begins, and we will conclude voting on Monday, June 19th at 9:30am EDT, when the winners of the contest will be determined. The winners will be chosen based on the total of likes (or reactions, to include “love,” etc) on the photos in the #DownSyndromeDads photo album on the ds-connex Facebook page during the voting period. The #DownSyndromeDads contest participants must observe Facebook’s policies. Please note that in order for your entry to be included in the voting, we must receive your entry by midnight on June 12th. We will happily include entries submitted after 6/12 in the Facebook album, but they will not be eligible for the prizes. Results of the contest will be announced on our Facebook page on Monday, June 19th.

The monetary donations must go to a team for a Down syndrome fundraising walk event. If your team is not registered at the time of the drawing, it is the winner’s responsibility to notify ds-connex when their team is registered in order to receive the donation. 

This year, we are happy to provide the winners with either a physical gift card or an e-gift card.

Please note…

We welcome participants in last year’s contest to re-enter with a new photo! 

By nominating someone for the #DownSyndromeDads contest, you are giving ds-connex permission to edit your submission for grammar and/or length, and to share your submission via the Connexions blog and across multiple social platforms, in order to raise awareness and appreciation of fathers in the Down syndrome community and all they do. The #DownSyndromeDads contest is sponsored by ds-connex. 

We look forward to seeing your #DownSyndromeDads entries!