Mid-Year Community Impact & A Call to Action

Hello, friends!

I am so excited to share DSAmd’s mid-year 2025 community impact report. It’s no wonder I am feeling a little overwhelmed: we saw nearly as many program registrations in just the first half of ‘25 as in the entire last year (2024.) Whew!

DSAmd cannot keep growing and serving without the help of sponsors, donors, and funders just like you. To that end, please consider Stepping Up with us at our annual walk-a-thon. You can walk in-person in Baltimore or Salisbury, or you can walk virtually! The power of peer-to-peer fundraising is wild: every person who commits to walking has their own network that could be tapped for support. Please join us: StepUpBaltimore.org or StepUpEasternShore.org

In the first half of this year, DSAmd is proud to connect our community with 29 educational and social programs. Many of those are weekly, so boxing class on Tuesdays counts as “one,” even though we’ve hosted over 20 Tuesday boxing classes this year!

We enjoy building community, including with our youngest families: 10 people have reached out after they received a new Down syndrome diagnosis via our First Call program! This program exists to provide resources, mentorship, and ideas for anyone who is new and seeking answers and support.

I’m also proud to reiterate that our World Down Syndrome Day advocacy campaign is growing. This year, DSAmd reached 3,000 children in 12 counties with our free classroom advocacy kits. It feels amazing to be able to do something concrete to advance understanding and inclusion in the typically-developing community.

I know that I track a lot of metrics. Thanks for bearing with me, here. I enjoy this, and I want to make sure that we are:

1.) transparent about how DSAmd spends its donations and gifts

2.) making progress in serving people individually and as a statewide Ds community

Did you know we answer about 10 requests for resources each week? Questions come from all angles — by text message, phone calls from caseworkers, emails, social media DMs from parents and siblings, and more. And that’s great! It’s part of why DSAmd exists. People with Down syndrome and their communities should know that they have an organization to depend on. To that end, I estimate we’ve provided 260 answers and resources this year so far.

We work hard to offer survey and feedback mechanisms after events and programs. The survey responses this year remain positive: 97% of participants say they receive value from DSAmd.

Finally, I am proud to share an estimated investment of $10,000 in the first half-year to the Maryland Down Syndrome Advocacy Coalition. We invest by sitting on the steering committee, donating materials and staff time, and providing money for supplies to make the advocacy work happen.

If you have read this far: Thank You! And here’s the call to action one more time: DSAmd cannot keep growing and serving without your help. To that end, please consider Stepping Up with us at our annual walk-a-thon at: StepUpBaltimore.org or StepUpEasternShore.org. Thank you!

I can’t wait to see what the second half of 2025 holds for all of us. Stay tuned and keep in touch!

Amanda

Amanda Mummert, Executive Director - DSAmd
director@DSAmd.org / 410-321-5434 (call or text)