December 2020
Supporting a Restaurant that Brings Smiles
The restaurant industry continues to be hit hard by the pandemic, with many significantly minimizing and/or needing to once again close indoor dining options. Rock the 21 is pleased to support another restaurant dedicated to training and employing people with all abilities, including Down syndrome (DS).
Sorriso in Italian means "smiles" and Sorriso Kitchen, in Chatham, NJ, is serving up lots of smiles for both lunch and dinner. Their mission is to serve creative, fresh, farm-to-table breakfast and lunch while serving the special needs community. One day a week, Sorriso Kitchen closes so that the restaurant can serve as a teaching classroom for young adults with special needs. These classes provide real-life job training in service and hospitality. The goal is to offer these young adults a positive experience in a workplace where they are respected, accepted and encouraged as they acquire the job skills they need to become employed in the community. If in the area, please visit Sorriso Kitchen!
November 2020
A Magical Time!
Rock the 21 focuses on creating opportunities for our community to come together and connect. However, the pandemic and social distancing has made this challenging. While we currently can’t host our usual in-person events – we’ve been getting creative! Rock the 21 recently hosted a fun, engaging and free virtual magic show for all who rock their 21st chromosome. Magical Dave's interactive magic show included Marshmallow the bunny and Fluffy the snake. Attendees laughed, had fun and enjoyed seeing friends.
Hearts of Joy!
Rock the 21 is thrilled to again support Hearts of Joy International whose mission is to provide life saving heart surgery for individuals with Down syndrome in countries where families cannot afford medical care. Hearts of Joy International recently expanded to Mexico and now serves 5 countries. The first surgery in Mexico was performed this past August and the patient, Hope, is healthy and home. We are grateful to our donors who make it possible for us to support Hearts of Joy International. It is because of you that we helped save a life.
October 2020
Safely Celebrating Down Syndrome Awareness Month
Awareness months have the power and purpose of building further knowledge and advocacy of an important topic. October is DS and Disability Awareness Month—what we call Rocktober! We are passionate about sharing our stories and celebrating those who rock their 21st chromosome. We encourage you to follow our social media channels to read stories from those that have a family member or friend with DS...stories they want others to know about their loved one.
While Rock the 21 typically celebrates DS Awareness Month with an in-person event, we are safely celebrating Rockstars from afar this year with a gift that will let them fashionably and safely rock out! We were pleased to send fun Rock the 21 masks, hand sanitizer, and Dunkin Donut gift cards to our friends at Hudson Milestones, such that their Rockstars clients can safely enjoy a treat out. We were excited to also send local families a DS Awareness celebration packet with back-to-school supplies and masks, as well as to send students and staff at ECLC, a school that supports nearly 200 students with DS, autism, and other disabilities, rockin’ masks they can sport as they get back to the classroom.
We celebrate those that Rock the 21 during this special month—and every month!
A Restaurant that Empower Others
The pandemic has taken a toll on all facets of the economy, especially the restaurant industry. Recently, Rock the 21 recently made an important donation to a restaurant dedicated to training and employing people with all abilities, including Down syndrome (DS).
No Limits Cafe, in Red Bank, NJ, is a lunch cafe and 501(c)(3) charitable organization that trains and employs adults with Intellectual Disabilities. The founders have a daughter with DS and it is their mission to EMPOWER adults with intellectual disabilities by providing jobs and job training to help them lead fulfilling lives within our community and to increase awareness of their potential. No Limits Cafe is an inclusive win-win for our community!
Please visit when you're in the area, it will surely be an unforgettable dining experience.
August 2020
End of Summer Fun
After spending several months in quarantine, the clients at Hudson Milestones were eager to step out of their houses and into their backyards for some end-of-summer fun! Rock the 21 supplied lawn games and activities to make their yards more inviting and to provide entertainment for when families came for socially distanced visits. It has been a long road for all of us, especially those in group homes who have to adhere to stricter guidelines and protocols during the pandemic. We are happy to hear that everyone is continuing to enjoy the games into the fall season.
May 2020
BABY Rockstar
Rock the 21 regularly partners with Hearts of Joy International, a non-profit that provides lifesaving heart surgeries to individuals with DS in countries where families cannot afford medical care. Last year, Rock the 21 helped Hearts of Joy celebrate a mom who was expecting a little boy with DS, Mateo. We provided educational toys and other sensory items to welcome Baby Mateo. Through the assistance of Hearts of Joy, Mateo recently underwent life-saving heart surgery. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mateo’s mom was not able to have family support in the hospital with her during surgery and recovery. Rock the 21 was one of many who sent letters of encouragement to her, providing comfort during this stressful time. Rock the 21 also provided a Sophie the Giraffe toy and a gift card to help support Mateo and his family. We are happy to report that Mateo is now stable and at home with his family.
April 2020
Rock the World: AdikaliE
We are excited to continue our support of Adikalie—a nine-year-old boy with DS living in Sierra Leone, Africa. Rock the 21 began sponsoring Adikalie in 2019 and he has become an extension of our Rock family. Our sponsorship will ensure Adikalie continues to receive critical physical and occupational therapies, as well as much-needed financial assistance towards school fees, supplies, and a uniform. Click here to see the latest update on Adikalie.
This year, we also purchased Adikalie a special lantern for his home. This solar inflatable lantern & phone charger will be invaluable to his whole family, who lack access to electricity and who often rely on other substitutes such as kerosene or candles. If you would like to purchase one of these lanterns for another family, you can learn more here.
Providing support & Staying connected during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Your generous donations provided disposal gloves for ten group homes and disinfecting products for four groups homes through the The Arc of Essex County's COVID-19 Relief Fundraiser! Thank you for assisting with the Arc's efforts to protect the individuals they serve and the staff providing care during this difficult and unprecedented time.
Additionally, six homes run by Hudson Milestones were quarantined when a few clients clients tested positive and came down with mild cases of COVID-19. In an effort to alleviate stress and make meal time easy for both the employees and residents of the quarantined homes, Rock the 21 sent catered dinners to the six homes. Hudson Milestones reported that the true heros were the employees who put their lives and families on hold, while they quarantined for two weeks with the residents providing unwavering care.
March 2020
Rockin’ Socks on world down syndrome day
March 21st was selected by the United Nations as World Down Syndrome Day because people with Down syndrome have three copies of the 21st chromosome.
DS can be compared to a story in nature. A four-leaf clover is merely a genetic variation of a three-leaf clover. It simply carries an extra leaf. We don’t know why Mother Nature added that extra leaf - she just did. This doesn’t make it better or not as good as the other clover. It’s simply unique. Some people even believe it brings a person good luck when they find a four-leaf clover. People with DS simply carry an extra 21st chromosome. We don’t know why, they just do…and we think it’s a reason to ROCK!
Our very own rockstars rocked their crazy socks on 3.21.20, along with people across the world, to celebrate the uniqueness in all of us!
Remote World down syndrome day celebration
For the last several years, we have celebrated this special day with our friends from Hudson Milestones. While we couldn’t be together in person this year, we celebrated from afar, while also supporting local restaurants. Catered dinners were delivered to four group homes so that these rockstars could enjoy their special day...even if remote.
