Sunshine & Smiles is a registered charity that provides a support network in Leeds for children and young people who have Down syndrome. It aims to improve the lives and opportunities for people with Down syndrome and raise awareness in the wider community.

Ava was three weeks old when she was diagnosed with Down syndrome and a heart defect (VSD). We needed a lot of support in terms of acceptance, being strong for Ava and learning about her needs as she grew older. With the support, help and advice from the charity for the last six years, we have been able to give her the best start in life and we have high expectations for her. She is now in a mainstream primary school.

The charity relies on public funding to continue with the activities it runs to support children like Ava, such as early development groups, social events, swimming lessons and speech and language therapy – all of which are key to a child’s development and interaction with other people. At the same time, the charity offers a lot of support around liaison with schools so that we, as parents, can be the best advocates for our children to get the right support in place. We have benefited immensely from this charity and without them we wouldn’t be where we are. We want to support the charity so it can continue supporting families like us.