$21 for 21 Challenge - Help People with Down Syndrome Reach Their Dreams

To celebrate World Down Syndrome Awareness Day on March 21, please join the MDSC as we kick off our $21 for 21 Fundraising Challenge to help individuals with Down syndrome, like John Anton, achieve their maximum potential. 

John, 47, of Haverhill, Mass., is not afraid of dreaming big. He is an MDSC Advocacy Specialist, a member of the group's Legislative Advocacy Task Force and is currently serving as the first-ever Allen C. Crocker Self-Advocate Intern in Washington, D.C., where he works as a fellow for Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a rising star in national politics (check out John's blog from DC).

Please consider pledging $21 to celebrate World Ds Day on 3/21 (Down syndrome is characterized by a 3rd copy of the 21st chromosome - 3/21, get it?). Your contribution will help spread awareness and support critical MDSC programs and initiatives. This includes the MDSC's national models like the Crocker Internship, our Annual Buddy Walk, the Advocates in Motion program and our signature Parents' First Call Program. 

Our goal for fundraising is $5,000 by midnight on World Down Syndrome Day. One lucky donor will even win an opportunity to join John for lunch (he suggests Legal Seafoods). 

Please invite your friends to this cause and share with your social networks to help us go viral. Let's all dream big, and help others like John Anton achieve their dreams!

Sincerely,

Your friends at the MDSC 

$21 for 21 Down Syndrome Challenge
Celebrating Individuals with Down syndrome like John Anton

This spring, John Anton is serving as the MDSC's first-ever Allen C. Crocker Intern, working as a fellow for Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, co-chair of the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus. 

He's living out a lifelong dream and he's blogging all it about it! 

"It's about our voice, our dreams, our futures, and to promote programs for people with disabilities and Down syndrome to increase awareness, " John said in an interview. "And after this, I could be running for office." 

John is no stranger to the spotlight. Last year, his photo was featured in a four-page TIME Magazine spread about new advances in prenatal Down syndrome testing, and he was quoted in an accompanying TIME blog post. 

"I know I have very little limitations," John told TIME. John was also featured in an episode by the news magazine show "Chronicle" about how the lives of people with Down syndrome have advanced in recent decades.

John is just one of the approximately 7 million individuals around the world with Ds. Help others like him live full lives and reach their maximum potential.