PALS Programs provides a place for young adults with Down syndrome and their peers to have fun, grow as individuals, and build transformative friendships. Members do different projects, including the Congratulations Project, an initiative in which members of the PALS family write letters to new members of the Down syndrome community. These letters are designed to inspire, encourage, welcome, and congratulate new parents and siblings of a child with Down syndrome.
The campers of PALS are paired up with a counselor, who helps them during the whole camp and helps them write the letters to the parents.
Some of the Downs kids are then recorded reading their letters out loud. The love and joy they have is obviously seen on their faces and by the way they talk. You can’t help but smile as they tell the new parents why their own lives are awesome and what makes them so cool.
All of them encourage the parents and tell them that their new little Down syndrome babies are gifts and will have a great lives.
For new parents of a Down syndrome child, life may just seem to have gotten extremely complicated and stressful. So many negative things may seem to come from having a Downs child. But in reality, these children are such a huge blessing. That is what these kids in the PALS program want to show new parents.
Saying, “Yes, I am keeping my Down syndrome baby!” is not an easy thing to do. The PALS kids want to congratulate these parents on being courageous and not letting a disability dictate what their choice was when they found out their babies would have Down syndrome.
These beautiful people are filled with pure love. They shower love on everyone. They see life as a wonderful adventure, ready to be tackled. They are able to touch other people with their mere existence, and that is not something many people can do.
The PALS Program and the Congratulations Project are great examples of people taking it upon themselves to help parents who may be struggling with children who have disabilities. This kind of support is what all pro-life people should give to those in difficult situations.
