Stephanie Rodden, founder of the Illawarra's Celebrate T21, is calling for businesses, schools and individuals to take part in Rock Your Socks this World Down Syndrome Day on Tuesday, 21 March.
Stephanie took the time to speak to the Flame to share the origin story of Celebrate T21 and how you can make a difference.
Tell us about Celebrate T21.
Celebrate T21 is a social enterprise based in the Illawarra and operating as a community service nationally.
Through our online network around Australia we bring together families within the Down syndrome community, sharing their stories and providing inspiration.
We also connect families with organisations including Down Syndrome Australia, T21 Mum Network Australia and 321 Pregnancy Care.
Why did you start Celebrate T21?
When I was pregnant with my son, Lincoln, we weren’t even given a diagnosis at the 12 weeks scan. We were just told that we had a decision to make. We didn’t know anyone with Down syndrome so we asked the doctor if they could connect us with a community, but they couldn’t provide any support.
The lack of support inspired me to start Celebrate T21. We dream of a world where no family should feel isolated, unsupported or pressured to terminate based on a diagnosis of Down syndrome.
Our hope is to provide all families with a new diagnosis of Down syndrome with a special gift pack, including our gorgeous photo book projects, which welcomes them into the supportive Celebrate T21 community. So far, we have distributed more than 4500 books across Australia and the UK.
Tell us about the Rock Your Socks fundraiser.
On World Down Syndrome Day, Tuesday, 21 March, you’ll see a lot of people wearing brightly coloured socks – because the sock is similar to the shape of a chromosome. This is an opportunity to spread awareness, start conversations and celebrate the diversity, uniqueness and accomplishments of the Down syndrome community to #RewriteTheNarrative.
For Celebrate T21, our ROCK YOUR SOCK fundraiser is essential in helping us to replenish our gift packs and costs of packaging and postage. We have gifted over 4500 copies of our books valued at $40, 500 calendars at $20 and over 400 gift packs valued at over $350 since launching in 2018.
How can we get involved?
There are three ways to participate:
- 1) As an individual you can simply purchase a pair of socks or more from our website.
- 2) You can purchase a box of 14 pairs to take to work or school so your peers can purchase.
- 3) All ABN holders are able to go on a 28-day account with 25% of unsold socks being refunded.
Further information on purchasing the ROCK YOUR SOCK merchandise, please click HERE.
The Celebrate T21 community can be found on Instagram and Facebook
