An Important Message to our NDSS Family

To our NDSS community:

We have been closely monitoring the rapidly changing situation around Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) with great concern for our community. As an organization dedicated to supporting all individuals with Down syndrome, we are particularly worried about the impact this crisis will have on our loved ones who already face significant health challenges.

Your health and safety is our highest priority, and we are committed to doing what we can to keep everyone safe.

I am writing to let you know about the steps the National Down Syndrome Society is taking to support and protect our community:

First, we have developed a one-pager to help share important facts about the virus and tips for staying healthy. We know this illness can be more severe for people with chronic medical conditions and hope the document will be helpful to you. We will continue to post relevant resources on our website as they become available.

We have also cancelled events and meetings for the remainder of the month and are carefully considering whether to cancel or postpone events scheduled for later this spring. We will share more information with you as decisions are made. Please be sure to follow our social media channels and our website for all updates.

Additionally, we have closed our offices in Washington, DC and New York City to encourage social distancing by our staff. However, our team will continue their important work via teleworking arrangements and our general email inbox and telephone hotline will be supported as usual.

At this time of concern and caution, we are grateful that our upcoming Racing for 3.21 on World Down Syndrome Day event is already virtual. We hope you will still plan to complete your miles or minutes on Saturday, March 21 in celebration of World Down Syndrome Day. You can run on a treadmill in your home, take a walk around your neighborhood, or even hold a family dance party. We hope to see all your wonderful social media posts just as we have in past years.

Now, more than ever, we need to do all we can to support each other as a community. Please reach out to our team by emailing info@ndss.org if you have any questions. We will continue to share information as it becomes available.

Thank you for being part of our NDSS family,