Tallahassee mother Hope Chinchak wants to create a better world for people with Down syndrome.
Almost four years ago, she and her husband created Our City Beautiful, an organization to raise awareness and support for people with Down syndrome – like their two sons, according to Fox 13 News.
“Down syndrome is the most commonly reoccurring genetic anomaly among people,” Chinchak told the news outlet. “It occurs roughly in one in every 700 births throughout the United States.”
A few months ago, the organization celebrated a victory when the state legislature approved one of their projects: specialty license plates that celebrate the value of people with Down syndrome. The blue and yellow design includes butterflies along with the words, “Celebrate the extraordinary!” and “Down syndrome awareness.”
Within the next two years, if at least 3,000 people sign up to receive the specialty plates, the state will print them. Otherwise the project gets canceled.
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“I know lots of parents, advocates, guardians who want to see their loved ones with Down syndrome represented. So I don’t feel in my heart that we’re going to have any problem getting that,” Chinchak said.
This week, Christina Pushaw, a former press secretary of pro-life Gov. Ron DeSantis, highlighted the effort on Twitter, sharing a link to the organization and the website to pre-order the license plates.
The specialty plate costs $25, and a portion of the sales will be donated to Our City Beautiful. According to the organization, the money will be used for scholarships for people with Down syndrome who want to go to trade school or college and for its special housing project, HOLLAND.
“Our overall mission is to build a tiny home community [designed] for independent living, for adults who have Down syndrome or various other disabilities,” Chinchak told the news outlet.
They also plan to donate a portion of the money to other disability rights organizations in Florida, according to the organization website.
To order or to learn more, visit the Our City Beautiful Facebook page or website.
