Vallers hosting Down Syndrome Awareness Day & Ice Cream Social

If you take a closer look at the fence surrounding the Heritage House building, you’ll notice colorful socks along the fence posts.

Why, you ask?

It’s in preparation for their upcoming Ice Cream Social event on Saturday, March 21 in appreciation of World Down Syndrome Day.

“Colorful socks have always been a part of WDSD because they resemble genes and the extra chromosomes those with Down syndrome usually carry. The socks help create awareness.” Tiana Valler said.

WDSD is held each year on March 21, and has been observed by the United Nations since 2012.

“There are no other WDSD events going on in the state of Montana, so now that we have the space, we thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to welcome all community members and families to an Ice Cream Social and raising awareness,” Valler said. “As a family of a child with Down syndrome, we would like to help educate others and come and get to know our son, Isiah, and other people like him.”

The free event, open to the entire community, is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. They will offer to kids free face-painting, free t-shirt painting, and a sock-puppet-making workshop, and of course, free ice cream sundaes at the event. Valler would like to see kids of all ages to come, along with their families. “We really want to bring people together and would especially like to see families from Lincoln attend.” she said.

One of the things they are working on this year is a sensory garden. Sue Lefrink from the Helena Gardeners Club has designed sensory gardens for the School of the Deaf and the Blind and Montana Wild Gardens, and is now working with Valler to plan their sensory gardens for the Heritage House.

“We want it to be a safe, enclosed garden where kids of all abilities have things for all of their senses,” Valler said. “Flowers will be bright and colorful, all the plants will be touchable, there will be musical things, like bells throughout the garden, and there will also be quiet areas to just sit. It will be available to kids in the Lincoln community as well as those traveling with special needs children to have a place to stop and interact with.”

The Vallers decided that their theme for the Heritage House is “growing.”

“We want to grow gardens, grow people, in their skills and their confidence. We want this to be a place for kids and adults, but we really want it to be a special place for kids with special needs.” she said.

They are also in the process of becoming a “Certified Autism Friendly Business,” and in doing so, they hope to make Lincoln a growing community, and creating more of a community for Down syndrome families in Montana, because they don’t have a lot of resources.

“We want to be a touchpoint and a place with information for people with kids with Down Syndrome, for speech therapy, for therapy dogs, just little things and kind of the best of stuff.” Valler said.

They are looking for some help throughout the day of March 21. If anyone is interested in volunteering to help with face-painting, t-shirt painting or sock-puppet-making, you can contact Tiana at 362-4444.

If you’re not able to volunteer for the event, but would still like to help, they would also appreciate donations of kid-sized t-shirts, or new white socks for puppet making.

Lastly, Valler wants to remind folks to wear bright, colorful socks that day to show support and raise awareness for Down syndrome during the event.