Dear friends of CDSPG,
The Chesapeake Down Syndrome Parent Group has been an amazing resource in the lives of so many families since 1982. We thank and recognize the dedication and hard work of many diverse volunteers and board members throughout the organization’s history. In fact, this year is incredibly exciting and marks our 40th anniversary as a nonprofit organization.
In recent years, with a strong vision, tireless work of volunteers, and clear path defined in our strategic plan, we have grown exponentially. This growth has Included the engagement of paid, part-time staff several years ago (now one, full-time staff plus paid contractors), and the advancement of virtual programming and telehealth opportunities due to the pandemic - serving over 592 unique individuals with programming and over 1,082 individual participation in programs overall in 2021 alone. After careful consideration and thoughtful reflection, our Board sees this growth as transformative in nature. This growth should reflect not only our organizational structure but the name of our organization as well. Effective on February 14, 2022, we are thrilled to announce we will be known as the Down Syndrome Association of Maryland - DSAmd!
We pledge to continue to center our work around individuals with Down syndrome through care, connection, equity, and diversity within the Down syndrome community. We will move forward with consistent and timely programs and services that benefit the community and those in Maryland not otherwise served by a Down syndrome organization. We look forward to our continued, aspirational and evolving work of serving individuals with Down syndrome and those who love and support them!
Together for Down Syndrome!
The 2021-2022 Board of Directors:
Laura Feiler, Special educator and transition specialist, Harford County Public School System - President
Shon’Ta Timmons, Practice Manager, MedStar Health - Vice President
David Wizer, Professor, College of Education, Towson University - Treasurer
Jennifer Carson, Director, Voices for Children Montgomery - Secretary
Chris Baumeister, Vice President of Engineering at Textron Engineering
Brian Coughlin, Special Education Teacher, Baltimore City Schools - Immediate PastVice President
Steve Manger, Education Architect, Blue Yonder
Amanda Morales, Licensed Medical Social Worker, Qualified Mental Health Practitioner (Adults)
Lauren Moses, Public Information Officer, Maryland Natural Resources Police
Beth Myers, Physical Therapist, Kennedy Krieger Institute
Sarah Ridgway, Environmental Engineer, EA Engineering - Immediate Past President
Ellen Scheel, Student, and self-advocate
Kelly Scheel, Self-employed
Lauren Ochalek, RN, MSN, and advocate, Chair: Maryland Down Syndrome Advocacy Coalition
FAQs:
1. How can I find information about DSAmd programs and events in my area? Don’t worry! All of our existing online and social media presence will automatically update or redirect you. You can follow along with us here on our new website, and you will see our social media handles will change. Our old website and contact information will redirect and our phone number remains the same. You will find us right here in the same place, under a different name!
2. Why are you changing your name? This decision has been the result of a long and thoughtful process and we are excited and humbled to be in a position to do more for individuals with Down syndrome and their families. It is indeed the result of the work of hundreds of volunteers in our community that shared a vision to reach more and more families in areas that did not previously have an easily accessible support network. Evolving the name of the organization to better reflect our current work has been a goal since our initial strategic planning process many years ago. While the original name carries a lot of wonderful history of the organization and incredible parent support, the work of the organization has evolved, and our community has grown. We wanted to ensure that our name change fully embraced our most important stakeholders - individuals with Down syndrome! – as well as the broader community, parents, siblings, and the professionals who serve our community. We still provide a lot of support to amazing parents! - but “Parent Group” no longer reflected the broad scope of programs and services we provide. In addition, as our work grew, it became more evident that “Chesapeake” wasn’t a clear reflection of our current and potential geographic reach. We are committed to making sure every family in Maryland has somewhere to turn no matter where they live and wanted our name change to help families in underserved areas more easily find us and the connection and support they need.
3. Are you an umbrella organization for any other Down syndrome organizations in Maryland? We are not an umbrella organization. We work together and share resources with the other independent organizations working in this important space. An example of this is how CDSPG has served and heavily invested in the planning and implementation of the Techniques for Success Annual Education Conference committee since 2018 in shared partnership with DSNMC and FRIENDS.
Here are the other Down Syndrome Support organizations doing great work in Maryland as we know them: Down Syndrome Association of Southern Maryland, Down Syndrome Network of Montgomery County, F.R.I.E.N.D.S. of Frederick County, Gigi’s Playhouse - Annapolis, and Parents of Children with Down Syndrome in Prince George’s County.
(Did we miss anyone? Please let us know: director@cdspg.org or director@DSAmd.org| 410-321-5434)
See the ways in which we communicated our name change to our DS community partners, and pledged to continue to work in partnership to serve all Maryland families with a loved one with Down syndrome:
Original Notice, November 2021
Second Notice, February 2022
4. What kinds of things do you do or plan to do in my area? We always have more work to do and ways to improve. Please reach out with your needs and ideas to Amanda, our full-time executive director: director@cdspg.org or director@DSAmd.org or our Board President and Treasurer, Laura Feiler and David Wizer: president@DSAmd.org. You can also call Amanda directly, any time, at 410-321-5434.
5. More on what led to this name? This answer has a few parts:
A. Consistent Support. CDSPG has worked hard to show that we’ve invested in the Down syndrome community, especially since the pandemic when we knew families would need us most. With the addition of full-time staff, we’ve developed annual education plans for every age group of self-advocates that we serve and their families. We have built and resurrected partnerships that will serve the community into the future.
CDSPG is more than play and pizza parties; and we are much more than a name. We offer connection and advocacy that we want our community to be able to count on, indefinitely. We do not subscribe to staying in one location or gathering only in places where there are only people with disabilities; we pledge to network and to live outside the boundaries of any one center to increase true inclusion in the communities we serve.
B.Timely Information. CDSPG is focused on building social infrastructure for the DS community and addressing systemic biases against people with DS. These efforts have not historically been addressed systemically in our state. We have committed to full-time staff, sitting on the statewide SESAC and Ethan Saylor Alliance committees, being an active member of the Maryland Down Syndrome Advocacy Coalition, and the national organization, Down Syndrome Affiliates in Action, investing in a multi-county First Call* best practices training in the first quarter of 2022 and identifying statewide parent mentors in the counties not served by other organization’s First Call programs, bringing The Improvaneer Method to Maryland in 2022, addressing racial medical bias for Down syndrome families, and as much as we can do to improve the lives of individuals with Down syndrome and their families in Maryland.
C. Timely Initiative. We are looking to the future. What has worked in the past may not work in today's world. With modern technology, social media, public expectations, family overwhelm, and the pandemic, we believe that we can make the most impact by operating on the state level so every family with a loved one with Down syndrome that is not already served will have a place, space, and offerings that empower them and make them feel welcome.
D. Solid Organization Being Built to Stand the Test of Time. CDSPG has a 40-year history as a standalone nonprofit organization, committing to strong business and nonprofit best practices, especially since the pandemic and with a commitment to full-time employee positions. During the pandemic, CDSPG received calls, emails, registrations, and social media messages from people all over the state. Half of Maryland’s counties do not have a Down syndrome organization currently; we want all Marylanders to know they can get help and support, regardless of where they live.
*First Call program is a nationally-recognized program of best practices in supporting newly-diagnosed families.
