2024 Impact Report

Looking back at last year, 2024 stands out to me as an incredible year of growth and impact for Ruby’s Rainbow, and one that checked off several major bucket-list items—not just for the organization, but for Ruby and Ella Mae as well! Ella turned 16 and started driving, which has been awesome for her and for our family. And Ruby got to realize a dream involving her number-one music artist of all time!

More on that in a second—but first, a highlight from early in the year: Ruby’s Rainbow was invited to attend a banquet hosted by PCSI, one of our generous longtime sponsors. This event was extra special since 2014 Rockin’ Recipient Mark Hublar was in attendance to make a speech! Mark is an incredible self-advocate and motivational speaker, and one of my favorite humans on the planet. He’s made a pretty big impact with his “I Have a Dream of Inclusion” speech—be sure to check it out on YouTube! At the PCSI banquet, Mark spoke to a crowd of 200, which I’m sure was no big deal to him, but it seemed incredible to me. I am so proud of him and all he’s accomplished, and I hope you are too!

And now, to one of Ruby’s and my BIGGEST highlights of 2024: being invited to appear on the Kelly Clarkson Show! If you’ve been following Ruby’s Rainbow for any length of time at all, you probably know Kelly Clarkson has been Ruby’s favorite since forever. It was a real treat to get to chat with Kelly on her talk show, and an even bigger treat when, during the segment, Kelly gifted her number-one fan with tickets to her Atlantic City concert!

That was all amazing enough, but it got even better: After the segment filmed, Ruby happened to mention another dream of hers—to sing on stage with Kelly… and Kelly invited her to do just that! We flew to Atlantic City for a whirlwind weekend, where Ruby joined Kelly on stage to sing her “Heartbeat” song. That was a HUGE moment that this proud mama will never forget!!

The main thing that comes to mind when I look back at 2024 is the incredible impact we were able to make with your help, belief and support. We realized a long time dream of mine by hosting THREE RainBOWL events last summer, including our very first one in Medina, OH—more on that below! This amazing community also helped us raise enough funds during the 3/21 Pledge to grant $630,000 last summer to 142 incredible, inspiring students with Down syndrome to pursue their dreams of higher education and independence!

Truly, we could not have done any of that without YOU. I always say that every little bit helps—every “Like” on social media, every share, every dollar donated… every little bit of it comes together to create something BIG! It’s all thanks to you that we’ve been able to continue our mission of supporting individuals with Down syndrome and increasing opportunities for them to chase their biggest dreams. And I am so grateful!!

With big love and a grateful heart,

Liz Plachta, Ruby’s Rainbow Co-founder &Executive Director, and most importantly, Mama toRuby & Ella Mae

Your Support Changes Lives!

There are many reasons why we are so passionate about our mission here atRuby’s Rainbow, and why we see our work as not just meaningful, but essential. One reason is that we have direct evidence of what a positive impact our scholarships make on the lives of our Rockin’ Recipients.

While 83% of adults without disabilities in the U.S. who are21–64 years old have full- or part-time jobs, that percentage is significantly lower for adults in the same age range who have intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). According to research commissioned and conducted by Special Olympics, only 34% of adults with IDD are in the labor force. The Arc of the United States has also published research showing that only 20% of adults with IDD live independently, while 80% live with caregivers (who are usually family members).

These statistics shine light on the real-world impact of access to higher education on the lives of students withDown syndrome. Fortunately, things are changing for the better! There are well over 300 college and university programs for students with IDD across 49 states, and counting. And the data we gather through annual surveys of our Rockin’ Recipients gives us insight that fill us with pride and hope. We hope it does the same for you—since we could not do what we do without you!

Everyone’s love and support blew me away, as always, during last year’s 3/21 Pledge. ThePledge is our annual awareness campaign and fundraiser that closely determines the amount of scholarship funds we’re able to grant each summer. Our Pledge theme last year was “There Is More”—because, as I have realized again and again throughout this journey of being Ruby’s mama, providing scholarships for students with Down syndrome, and raising awareness about their worth and capabilities, there is always more. SO much more! More big dreams to come; more challenges to conquer; more surprises and opportunities waiting around every corner. Remembering that “There Is More”reminds us to meet challenges with resilience, to embrace change with optimism, and to trust that each transition will open doors to new opportunities and experiences.

Together, during the two weeks of the 3/21 Pledge, we managed to raise $600,000! Donations from all 50 states and countries across the globe enabled Ruby’s Rainbow to grant 142 scholarships totaling $600,000 to a brand-new crew of Rockin’ Recipients last summer. THANK YOU again for dreaming so big with us and embracing the fact that There Is More!!

$600,000 raised in two weeks. Y’all showed up in a BIG way!
There is MORE—andYOU helped prove it!

In October, which is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, the Ruby’s Rainbow word and theme for the month was pivot. We’d had a whole awareness campaign planned that didn’t work out last-minute, and that turned out to be more than OK—it was great! Sometimes the most beautiful things come from changing an idea, a vision, or even the life we thought we were going to have. We had so much fun with our pivot, kicking it off with a Facebook LIVE session where Ruby talked about what having Down syndrome means to her and answered questions her “subscribers” (as she calls them—can you tell she watches YouTube on the regular? ).

The rest of the month was just as spur-of-the-moment, and every bit as fun, as we chatted with several of our Rockin’ Recipients about college life, with Ruby’s big sis Ella Mae about what it’s like having a sibling with Down syndrome, and generally raised awareness about the lives, interests, needs and dreams of people with Down syndrome.

We are always proud to show our supporters how we allocate funds here at Ruby’s Rainbow. Please check out the chart on the next page to see what your generosity supported in 2024!

We are also proud of our first three-year strategic plan that we created and began implementing in 2022. This roadmap was generated by a committee that believes in the Ruby’s Rainbow mission, vision and core values, and wants to help guide our organization toward its key goals and objectives.

Since successfully carrying out that first strategic plan, we have worked hard to create the next one, which we have begun implementing in 2025. We’re excited to share more details in next year’s Impact Report! It’s so exciting to see the growth from where we started over 13 years ago to today. We’ve truly come so far!