By Barbara Augsdorfer, editor for the Effingham Herald

 

The Lowcounty Down Syndrome Society (LDSS) has been working for several years mostly as a resource and support group for families with children with Down syndrome.

Of course, the children get educational support and learn life skills from their local public schools, but what happens when they reach working age?
Numbers from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that people with disabilities are employed at a lower rate than people without disabilities; and those numbers include every “disability” without regard to a person’s “differently ableness”.

That “differently ableness” is what the LDSS “Night of Champions” wants to celebrate – not only people with Down syndrome who seek out and obtain gainful employment, but also the companies and businesses that hire them.

To help businesses and people connect, Night of Champions features a “hiring event” before and after the celebration of employees and employers.

“We found it makes so much more sense to have them have a table there that night, so that employers, when it’s fresh in their mind and they're in the middle of that ‘Aha!’ moment, ‘I really need to do this,’ connect them right then,” said Candy Bogardus, president of LDSS. She added that organizations such as Savannah-based EmployAbility and Springfield-based B&B Care Services have tables at Night of Champions to help employers and potential employees match employer needs with potential employees’ skills.

“The reason that we created this event (Night of Champions) 16 years ago was according to statistics, 80% of people with Down syndrome are unemployed, but they're not unemployable. They just don't have a job; but they want to work,” Bogardus said.

In the early days of LDSS, moms and dads of children with Down syndrome met with other moms and dads of teens and young adults with Down syndrome, “to share the journey, learn, and absorb all this information,” Bogardus explained. These children and young adults, “have dreams and aspirations just like every other person on the planet, but they just happen to have an extra chromosome.”

To help spread the word of this pool of differently abled talent, business owners who employ the differently abled are invited for a specific reason.

“If you knew a business owner, invite them as a guest, so that they could have that ‘Aha!’ moment of, ‘I am really missing out on a wealth of employees that would make my job, my job place, and my coworkers a much better place and a much happier place’,” Bogardus explained. “And so that is where the Night of Champions came from.”

Bogardus added that the effort has led to tremendous growth of awareness and employment of differently abled people locally; and the word is filtering out nationally as well.

She added that LDSS is receiving an increase in employer nominations, which means there are more employers who are becoming aware of this untapped talent pool and are hiring from it.

“That just shows that something good is happening,” Bogardus said.

That “something good” is getting attention from at least one national chain.

Bogardus shares that her 20-year-old daughter Lainey, a 2024 champion, has been working at Michael’s in Pooler for three years.

Bogardus, who has worked at Michael’s for ten years, said Lainey has always loved art and crafts, and Michael’s is a good fit for her.

Lainey keeps the shelves stocked – neatly, greets and helps customers, and helps teach kids’ art classes during the summer.

“She got the job all on her own,” Bogardus said. “She applied online, I dropped her off for the interview, and (a short time later) she got her letter of acceptance.”

Bogardus went on to describe Lainey’s job at Michael’s causing a ripple effect and an “Aha!” moment in the company.

“The pivotal part about that is that she was the first person ever with Down syndrome to be employed at a Michaels in the nation,” Bogardus said. “We have 1,300 stores. As a result of that small rock hitting the lake. It is now rippled across our 1300 stores. Our corporate people, they came, they saw, and they made it happen. Now we have an abilities program that we are committed to hiring a person with different abilities in all 1,300 stores by the end of 2025. This is the benefit of having a business person come and witness what we do at Night of Champions.”

The 16th LDSS Night of Champions is set for May 1 at the Mariott Savannah Riverfront Hotel, with the cocktail hour/hiring event beginning at 6 p.m. and banquet at 7 p.m. Tickets, tables, and sponsorships are still available online at www.ldssga.org/night-of-champions/.