New Zealand Down Syndrome Association
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Read more about New Zealand Down Syndrome Association:
The NZDSA is a family/whanau driven non-profit organisation who provide support and information to anyone whose life has been changed by Down syndrome. The NZDSA started in 1981 in Auckland by two mothers who formed a coffee group to provide support for families. This need has not diminished because In New Zealand one baby in about 1000 is born with Down syndrome; that is one or more babies with Down syndrome born every week and just over half of children with Down syndrome are born with a health problem.
Our mission is to promote the participation of people with Down syndrome in the community.
Our aims are:
- To provide information and support to families/whanau of people with Down syndrome
- To promote and advocate for positive attitudes in the wider community
- To further the understanding of Down syndrome
- To promote the rights and inclusion of people with Down syndrome
- To review policies and lobby Government and other institutions
- To promote positive public awareness through educational and media initiatives.
Winning a donation from Sovereign will help us achieve:
If our organisation is chosen we will use the funds to host a two-day family camp with a focus on planning for the future to promote inclusion and full community participation. The reason for hosting the camp is in response to the requests from both people with Down syndrome and their families/ whanau who have indicated that they would like more information so that they can be empowered to plan for the future. Many people with Down syndrome and their families/ whanau are not always aware of all the options available to ensure full community participation, in addition they are daunted by this journey so they restrict their plans for the future. This camp would provide people with Down syndrome and their families/ whanau with the information and resources to make informed choices and to empower the participants so that they can explore and create holistic plans for the future.
The camp would consist of two streams: one for parents/whanau and the other stream for people with Down syndrome. The stream for parents will provide a platform for parents to talk about their concerns about “planning for the future”, outline services and supports available in the community and provide guidelines and resources which will empower them to support their child's future plans. The purpose of the stream for people with Down syndrome is to empower them with self-enabling and self-advocacy skills so that they have a voice in planning their future.
The NZDSA also hopes that leaders will emerge from this group who will be able to participate in a national self-advocacy group within the NZDSA so that they can be an advisory group to the NZDSA national committee. The camp will also provide an opportunity for families to form circles of support which will provide a natural support structure to help families implement successful plans for their child with Down syndrome. People with Down syndrome will benefit from this camp as they will be given the opportunity to consider what they would like their future to look like and to be given skills to help them voice their desires.
Our details:
| Registration No: | CC24524 |
| Region: | Hawke's Bay/East Coast, Waikato/Bay of Plenty/Rotorua, Manawatu/Wanganui/Kapiti, Northland, Taranaki, Wellington, Auckland, Central Auckland, South Auckland, North Auckland, West Auckland, East Auckland, Canterbury/South Canterbury, Southland, West Coast, Nelson/Marlborough |
| Category: | Children's disability support, Parental advice and support, Children's health and rehabilitation |
| Contact Person: | Zandra Vaccarino (National Executive Officer) |
| Address: | PO Box 4142, Auckland |
| Telephone: | (06) 353 7078; 0800 693 724 press 1 |
| Email: | national.coordinator@nzdsa.org.nz |
| Website: | www.nzdsa.org.nz |
| No. helped nationally: | Currently, the NZDSA has 870 members, about 461 of whom are people with Down syndrome or their families or friends, the other be |
| No. helped per project: | 40 |
| Existing sponsors or funders: | We rely on grant funding to provide our core services to families. |
