Liz,

I just received your note in the mail today regarding the donation we sent to Ruby’s Rainbow on Ellie’s behalf. I post a lot of pics of my girls, Ellie and Mya, and we absolutely love your organization. My father was Ellie’s biggest fan. He told absolutely everyone he met that his favorite granddaughter was Ellie and she had Down Syndrome and she was going to change the world. They had the most amazing bond, in fact one of her her first words was “PaPa.” When he passed away a little over a year ago, he left an account to me specifically for charity. So naturally, since my father always believed in our dream, for Ellie to go to college and live a wonderful and fulfilling life, your organization was the perfect fit. We wanted it to hopefully be enough for a scholarship so sent the whole account to your organization, exactly what my father would have wanted. 

Thank you so much for all that you do! Your organization gave me such hope right after Ellie was born (and still does). As you know, that time right after a diagnosis can be hard, and seeing all of your beautiful scholarship recipients made me realize my dreams for my daughter could never be changed by a diagnosis on a piece of paper!

Sincerely, Catherine Berglund (Ellie’s mom)

Oh my heart, you guys. Catherine also told me that shortly after Ellie was born her father saw a man with Down Syndrome who worked busing tables at a local restaurant, so her dad checked with the owner to see what days that man worked and then made it at point to always eat at that restaurant when the man was working, She said, “when he bussed my dads table my dad would give him a tip (just a toonie, $2 here in Canada, my dad kept a stack of them just for this man). I don’t even know if my dad ever had a conversation with this man but he just loved seeing how independent he was and loved supporting him.”

This pic just makes my heart smile so BIG. You can see the connection between them, it shines through in both their faces. When someone donates a scholarship amount or more we grant one in their honor, so we will be so proud to have an “Ellie and Papa Scholarship Award” in 2018!