Global Honors Anna Sie as Community Leader
on World Down Syndrome Day at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Mrs. Sie is a loving grandma and longtime supporter of the differently-abled.
The Global Down Syndrome Foundation is proud to announce longtime supporter Anna Sie will receive the Global Community Leadership Award at the World Down Syndrome Day celebration at Children’s Hospital Colorado on Friday, March 20, 2015. The celebration is co-hosted by Global and the Sie Center for Down Syndrome – one of the largest pediatric medical care centers dedicated to children with Down syndrome.
Mrs. Sie, along with her husband, John J. Sie, is the founding donor of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, and the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado.
She is also co-trustee of the Anna and John J. Sie Foundation, one of the largest funders of nonprofits dedicated to people who are differently-abled. Mrs. Sie’s philanthropy and advocacy focuses on issues relating to children’s welfare, health care, education and media. Her commitment to improving the lives of people with Down syndrome and the differently-abled is inspired by her granddaughter Sophia, who happens to have Down syndrome.
“I want to make sure our granddaughter will benefit from anything we do,” Mrs. Sie said. “But that can’t happen if we don’t get to the bottom of these health issues for all people with Down syndrome. Helping my granddaughter, and the millions of others like her, is my mission and my passion in life.”
Mrs. Sie, a native of Italy, immigrated with her father and several brothers to the United States in 1955 and grew up in New Jersey. Her mother and two younger brothers came to America three years later. Her passion for the welfare of children was forged through her own experience in coming to America.
Anna and her husband John moved to Colorado in 1984 and have contributed to many aspects of Colorado’s growth. Together they have raised five children and are the proud grandparents to Sophia, Patrick, Benjamin and Shaela.