Last week’s Project 52 entry involved the site Sevenly. This week’s post goes hand in hand with that same site. Instead of purchasing a product and having a portion go towards the cause, I went straight to the source and made a donation to the company.

Enter: International Down Syndrome Coalition

This organization helps bring awareness and support to families of children with down syndrome and to fund financial support for families adopting a child with special needs. Like Eric and Jane, who were part of the featured story for Sevenly’s weekly cause. After having trouble conceiving they ended up adopting five children with special needs. Their family grew over the years, totaling nine children. 6 adopted and 3 biological.

This last week was the time in my pregnancy in which I had the choice to test for down syndrome. It’s a simple blood draw and though it’s not a 100% guarantee, I’ve found nothing is during a pregnancy, it’s helps prepare in some way for your future. All my labs came back normal, but even if they hadn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered. Part of this organization’s cause is to advocate for the woman who are pressured to terminate a pregnancy if they are given positive results from down syndrome testing. I’m not here to judge. I can never put myself in everyone’s shoes and know the extent of the situation. But I personally could never choose to terminate my pregnancy because of the possibility of my baby having special needs. You’ve worked so hard to create this life inside of you. It’s a blessing and a miracle and a beautiful thing I can only hope that all my loved ones get to experience. To all those families who are interested in adopting a child with special needs, my heart, my love and support go out to you. I am so happy there are organizations out there that can help you with support and financial assistance. Adopting any child is such a magical thing. My husband and I have experience with the adoption process, and there were so many FRUSTRATING days and endless amounts of paperwork. I can only imagine what families go through when trying to adopt a child that has no biological ties to them. All children are beautiful and all are deserving of a family and a home.

To make a donation to this organization, go HERE

You can also still purchase products that support this cause.