High School Senior Katie Shore Raises Awareness and Funds for Global Down Syndrome Foundation
We are continually impressed and humbled by the generosity, ingenuity and compassion of our donors. One recent example shines a light on how a high school student can make an adult-size impact.
Katie Shore (left, in picture above) of McConnellsburg High School in Pennsylvania raised more than $2,300 in five days for her senior project and donated the entire amount to the Global Down Syndrome Foundation!
It all started when Katie and her classmates were tasked to complete projects for their senior year. “Senior projects can be anything you want,” Katie said. “You can raise money or paint a room just as long as you get it approved by the principal, Todd Beatty.”
Inspired by her niece who has Down syndrome, Katie decided to raise money for the Global Down Syndrome Foundation and created a game that pitted each classroom in her school against the other. In the game, each classroom was assigned a bin to hold coins – pennies were counted as one point, and all silver coins were assigned a negative point value. The idea was for students to sabotage other classrooms by adding silver coins to their bins, which forces that class to add more pennies in order to boost their score.
At the end of the week, the classroom with the most points won a pizza party, and all the funds that were raised were donated to Global.
“My niece has Down syndrome, and people treat her different because of it,” Katie said. “She is a beautiful little girl, and I love her to death, and I want nothing more than for her to be happy. Kids make fun of her at school, and I see that she’s hurt. I just want to let her and all kids with Down syndrome know that people do care for them.”
The Global Down Syndrome Foundation would like to thank Katie Shore, her classmates and her school for this generous and thoughtful gift. The staff at Global will work hard to make sure this generous donation is used wisely and makes a difference. Global uses such funds to help fund life-changing medical care, research, events and programs like the I Love You Dance Parties, Dare to Play Football, Dare to Cheer and Advocacy promoting the civil and human rights of the differently-abled.
If you would like to support the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, donate now, or contact us for other ways to help.
THANKS AGAIN, KATIE. YOU ARE AMAZING!
Pictured with Katie above are Alexandria Rexroth (center) and Reva Sounders (right)