World Down Syndrome Day

World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD), observed on March 21 every year, is a global awareness day which has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012. The date for WDSD being the 21st day of the 3rd month, was selected to signify the 3 copies of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome.

Down Syndrome International (DSi) encourages Down syndrome friends all over the world to choose their own activities and events on WDSD to help raise awareness of what Down syndrome is, what it means to have Down syndrome, and how people with Down syndrome play a vital role in our lives and communities.

Rock Your Socks for WDSD

MCDSIG has celebrated WDSD by inviting Montgomery County and beyond to join the “Rock Your Socks” campaign. School districts in the county have joined us along with all of the YMCA branches, local law enforcement and fire stations, area restaurants and other businesses. You can use the information below to invite others to celebrate with us.

MCDSIG has developed a flier and poster to disseminate within your schools. We encourage you to contact your administrators/principals to invite them to participate in this fun day. In many schools, the student councils have created additional bulletin boards and posters to hang around the school. Teachers and guidance counselors have also used this day to educate students about people with Down syndrome (see the Explaining Down Syndrome section of this site).