SPRING IS HERE!!

Upside Of Down will be selling these gorgeous, HUGE hanging baskets at the Parkside Elementary Spring Carnival this Saturday!  You can reserve one or two or more for you as well!  They'll be available for pick up Saturday after 3pm.  They are only $18 each and we take credit cards, cash or checks! They sell for $26.99 at the stores and nurseries!! All of the flowers you see are grown by residents of Down Home Ranch. "Growing these baskets is just one of the ways that our Ranchers support themselves. In addition to the work they do keeping the Ranch running, they create products like hanging baskets, poinsettias and lilies to sell to our friends and neighbors and businesses in the surrounding area." ~ Down Home Ranch representative

Email Teana to reserve your flower baskets!  Please be sure to include your name, contact info, basket # that you would like and the quantity! 

Basket #1 - Purple or Pink Petunias

Basket #2 - Pretty Petite Petunias

Basket #3 - Gorgeous and BIG Begonias

SOLD OUT - Basket #4 - Calibrachoa Combo - beautiful multi-colored baskets - SOLD OUT

Basket #5 - Beautiful Sunpatiens - peach flowers and vareigated green leaves.

SOLD OUT -  Basket #6 GIANT GIANT FERN - SOLD OUT

CLAW USA exists to empower women & strengthen local communities through theater, arm wrestling & philanthropy.  CLAW Austin (CLAWstin) has selected Upside Of Down to benefit from their 2nd Annual Fundraiser!!

WHAT: Outrageously entertaining, theatrical ladies' arm wrestling tournament
WHERE: Bar 96 - 96 Rainey St., Austin 78701
WHEN: Thursday, April 19, 2012
TIME: Doors open at 8pm, first match is at 9pm
WHY: To benefit Upside Of Down
HOW MUCH: $5 tickets available at the door and 10 VIP tickets will be sold for $100.  VIP Tickets include: Front Row Seat, Personal Cocktail Waitress and an Awesome Swag Bag!  Contact Teana or Jeff if you're interested in purchasing a VIP ticket for a $100 tax deductible donation!

CLAWstin more than tripled their fundraising goal at their first event in 2011.  Let's help them to exceed that goal again this year, while supporting Upside Of Down!

Here's a video from last year's event!  Make sure your volume is up and get ready to laugh your head off!!

Click here to download a flyer to post or share with your friends to advertise the event!

About CLAW:
CLAW is an outrageous theatrical spectacle where regular women arm-wrestle each other in character w/ costumes, theme music, and entourages. The result is a cross between a burlesque show, a barroom brawl, and pro wrestling. A hundred percent of net proceeds go to charity, so what's not to feel good about? Come to support women's  empowerment, come to appreciate the costumes, come for the sport, come to drink, or come to benefit the charity.

CLAWstin Contacts:  Beth Taylor: 210.363.0929  ~  Jen Murrill: 512.289.0018

FROM DSRTF:
BREAKING NEWS: Your support yesterday resulted in over $35,000 in donations -- with our 3:1 match that means more than $140,000 to fund Down syndrome cognition research! THANK YOU!  http://www.dsrtf.org/

FROM UPSIDE OF DOWN:
Upside Of Down donated 10% of that amount to DSRTF on 3/21!  Thank you to those who donated!  Almost all of our donation was from donations made in memory of Jeffrey's dad and Presley's PaPa, Joe C. Ross.  PaPa Joe passed away on February 27, 2012 and Presley was one of his passions - he just adored her!  The option was given to donate to Upside Of Down in lieu of flowers and there was an overwhelming response.  Almost $5,000 was donated in memory of PaPa!  He will always be a part of Upside Of Down. 

The 4th Annual Upside Of Down Charity Kickball Tournament is coming up on Sunday, April 1st and we've got some GREAT raffle items!  Get your raffle tickets NOW by making an online donation.  Your name will be in the drawing one time for every $5 you donate!!  Take a look at some of the items we have so far that will be split into several raffle baskets!  As of now, they are valued at close to $4,000 but that will likely double by the time we secure all of the donations!

The CEO at TEAM FUNDING SOLUTIONS is matching every raffle ticket his employees purchase in order to support Upside Of Down even more!!!  Check with your employer, maybe they're up for the challenge too!

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

Be sure to include your correct email at time of donation so that we can contact you if you are chosen in the drawing and are not present to win!  YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE PRESENT TO WIN!

In light of the recent news of the funding reduction from NIH (National Institute for Health) for Down syndrome research, WE, as parents and families, have got to STEP UP and help to support to continue Down syndrome research!  Clinical trials are under way by ROCHE based upon research by DSRTF (Down Syndrome Research and Treatment Foundation), but without funding, scientists cannot continue their efforts, which could even result in no more clinical trials. 

If you're thinking, I can't do that, there's an organization for that.....you're misled!  Organizations out there need private funding from us!  YOU can do it, and WE can do it together!  Here are some ideas that you can use to help you help EVERYONE in the Down syndrome community!  With the money you raise, you can donate it directly to DSRTF or if want our help, you can leverage any communications/events that Upside of Down puts on to raise funds.

• In lieu of birthday or wedding gifts, request donations for DS Research
• Bake sale at your church, school, etc.
• Sporting tournament
• Poker tournament
• Facebook or Twitter challenge to have 20 people donate $10 for Down syndrome research - set your goals even higher if you have lots of friends!
• Ask friends and family to simply make a donation and spread the word for the need for private funding to continue DS research!  Click here to donate directly to DSRTF, Click here to donate via Upside of Down (both are tax deductible)

If you aren't sure if you'd even consider giving your child any medications that MAY end up proving to increase cognitivie ability (like me), THAT'S OK.  I look at this that it will provide more opportunities for people with Down syndrome that aren't currently there and could prevent the early onset of Alzheimers, which research shows people with Down syndrome are very likely to get.  I couldn't be happy just sitting back and possibly letting research fall to the way side - who knows what will be discovered!!!

Upside of Down has a goal of raising $100,000 for DS Research that will go directly to DSRTF, please feel free to join our efforts in any way or donate directly to DSRTF!!!  Every penny adds up!!!

Please let us know if you'd like to chat about other ways we might be able to make a difference!!!

Over the past three years, Upside Of Down's Charity Kickball Tournament raised enough funds to sponsor summer camp for more than 30 individuals with Down syndrome in Central Texas and across the nation! Our goal is to sponsor even more campers in 2012, so come out and show your support at the 4th Annual Charity Kickball tournament!  We have all 12 teams secured, but you can still join an existing team and put your Kickball skills to the test! 

You can also help by making a donation to help with the event and our mission to provide

more opportunities to individuals with Down syndrome

Many kids and even adults with Down syndrome may never have the opportunity to experience summer camp and create those everlasting memories, and Upside Of Down wants to make that possible, along with help from our community!

Thank YOU for choosing to be a part of our dream!

We hope you'll come out and watch us 'Kick for a Cause':

Sunday, April 1, 2012

10:30am - 4:00pm

WAYA 1st. St. Fields

1248 Cesar Chavez (Reserve Rd.)

Austin, TX  78703

Here's a clip from the spot that YNN did on the tourney last year: http://austin.ynn.com/content/277730/family-helps-others-see--upside-of-down--syndrome?ap=1&MP4 

Keep checking our website for all the things that Upside Of Down is doing to provide even more opportunities to individuals with Down syndrome!  We're not just campin' anymore!!

www.UpsideOfDown.org

Presley is the reason for Upside of Down and
unknowingly, she has already touched the lives of so many across the globe -learn more about Presley and Upside of Down at www.UpsideOfDown.org

Thank you for your continued support!

Jeffrey and Teana

Jeffrey and I have been thrilled with the success of our camp scholarship program over the past 3 years and our 4th Annual Upside Of Down Charity Kickball Tournament is coming up on April 1st!

We've attended a few presentations from Down syndrome researchers and have created a new goal for Upside of Down over the next year - to raise $100,000 for Down syndrome research to be distributed by DSRTF (Down Syndrome Research and Treatment Foundation).  Our first insight to what research was going on was by attending a presentation by Dr. William Mobley, one of the pioneers and heroes (in my book) on Down syndrome research.  This past fall Jeffrey and I attended a presentation by Jon Pierce-Shimomura, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Section of Neurobiology at THE University of Texas at Austin.  Jon was our inspiration to raise $100,000 for research!  It is amazing at what they are onto at the UT lab and other labs across the nation!  This past week, Jeffrey and I were invited to have lunch with Dr. Michael Harpold, DSRTF Chief Scientific Officer and Chair, Jon Pierce-Shimomura and others in our community with a passion for increasing Down syndrome research - Thank you Jerry Horton for that invitation!  We hope that you'll consider contributing to our goal of 100k for Down syndrome research this year!!!  Just skip on that swanky coffee a few times each month - that's all it takes to make a difference!!!!

Our most exciting contribution is that Upside Of Down is sponsoring the employment of a few individuals at Jon Pierce-Shimomura's lab at UT.  These aren't just any employees - these paid researchers happen to have Down syndrome!  Yes!!!  I cannot believe that he's created an opportunity such as this for people with Down syndrome to be contributing to some serious science!!!  I would be more than proud to one day say that my daughter, Presley, works at UT in a research lab as a paid scientist!!!  Thank you Jon for doing what you do and for creating opportuntities for individuals with Down syndrome!  Also, thank you to our donors that help make it possible for Upside of Down to support opportunities for individuals with Down syndrome!!!