Our City Beautiful

Dear OCB Friends and Family,
The time has come for us to share an important update on the progress and plan of action for the future of Our City Beautiful and its endeavors.

It is after much prayer and planning and with an extremely heavy heart (and typing through tears) that I have decided to cease operations for the foreseeable future.

I have put 110% of my heart into this vision over the last six years and I do still believe in its importance; I just no longer believe I am the person who can make it happen BUT I know there are people out there with more influence who can!

For those who have supported and encouraged my family through this journey, I am grateful for you and your push for a better community for our children. So many self advocates and parents/families are doing wonderful things and I am ecstatic to experience much more to come. My advocacy work will continue but I'm scaling back to be completely present in my family.

While I'm utterly heartbroken to see this dream be put on the "Back burner" for a long time to come, I am thrilled at what the OCB team accomplished in our time: Advocacy, introducing the community to talented people with the Down with heART gala, visiting classrooms to teach children on the who/what/where/why/how of Down syndrome and gifting thousands of dollars over time with the WORLD CHANGER scholarship!

I do still believe in my motto, "If God leads you to it he will lead you through it". There is a short list of factors at play for a while now and I've learned my time doesn't always align with his.

I want to encourage everyone in our community to continue striving for the absolute best for our loved ones with disabilities!

There are a few housekeeping notes:1. For those who ordered a license plate I am attaching a refund request form. I am sorry to give you added work but this is the requirement for you to be refunded. The license plate will not be issued because there were not enough sales. I will attach that form in the comments.
2. OCB has not done any type of fundraising in nearly two years so, any monies the organization had available were given to applicants in the most recent WORLD CHANGER scholarship and a gift was made to Bishop Grady Villas and the church where our office was located.
3. The page for OCB and the license plate will be archived at the end of July.

Philippians 2:2 - then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.

Be good to one another, always
,Hope Chinchak

Send a message to learn more

We've taken some much needed time off for rest, fellowship, and growing families and are back with an update on the DS Awareness plate. I wish it was a better one.

**68 Vouchers have been sold for the DS Awareness Plate since October 2022. We need 3,000 sold by October 2024 for the plates to be printed and rolling on the road. **

I'm bringing YOU the information again in hopes to inspire an abundance of views, shares, sales, awareness, and whatever else it may bring.

We have 6 months. The OCB team has done their part. Now it is time to do yours in whatever fashion that may look like. But, without YOU this adventure will not happen.

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IMPORTANT NOTES: - 1. You do NOT need to be a Seminole county resident to order through THIS website. We are pushing orders through them for ease of communication and progress tracking. You may visit any local tax collector office to order. A tax collector office is the ONLY legitimate office/website you can find this plate.

2. These are pre-sales only right now. You will not receive your plate in the mail right away. Per the state of Florida legislation, we MUST accumulate 3,000 pre-sales before plates will print.

STEPS TO ORDER:
1. Visit : https://client.pointandpay.net/web/SeminoleCountyLPVoucher
2. Use Drop Down Box and choose DOWN SYNDROME
3. Enter details and Pay Fee.
4. SHARE SHARE SHARE with friends and family.
5. Share, again and again! 🙂 We NEED and appreciate your advocacy!

The Golden Rule says to treat others how you would like to be treated! This is true for people with Down syndrome, too. Put the person before the ABILITY.

Vote for our friends for such an amazing opportunity!

Community Services Award | Defender Service Awards | Land Rover USA Five incredible nonprofits were selected as finalists, and the public will now vote for the winner of the new Defender 130. View the finalists and vote now through October 4, 2023.

On September 15, 2023, navigate the challenging legal landscape for special needs with us. Join us at the Special Needs Conference 2023 by The Law Office of Hoyt & Bryan for invaluable insights and solutions. 📅 Registration is now open!
Secure your spot ➡️ https://loom.ly/c_KHdr0

New show on Netflix!!

Go, Caleb, go!

WHAT.A.DAY!

“Legend” - the word the announcer used to describe Caleb as we were waiting for the start to his 2nd tri of the day (and 22nd overall), as he let the crowd know that Caleb is the youngest person with Down syndrome to have completed a full sprint triathlon.

It was an amazing day yesterday, from the start at 5am to that 2nd finish line at 3pm, Caleb handled it all like a champ.

The Sprint consisted of a 750m swim/20km bike/5km run. Caleb battled wind and inclines on the bike, and kept a great pace on the run to finish just under our goal of 2:15 at 2:14:23.
Immediately headed to set up for his 2nd race - a Super Sprint. 300m swim/10km bike/2km run, which he completed in 1:02:47. Crushed the run with one of his fastest times yet; still dancing at the finish line 😁

It was an amazing weekend - so many friends from all across the country, great races, decent weather, and the opportunity for Caleb to show his tenacity and strength 💪🏼

So thankful for the team from USA Triathlon for their efforts, their inclusivity, and their welcoming spirit. Headed home with medals, memories, and even bigger goals. No Limits!

💙💛

Coming soon, to a Buddy Walk near you! We’ll provide a list of walks we will be attending or where you’ll be able to receive a flyer!

Please consider giving $3 to help us offset the cost of the informational packets and the shipping to send them all over Florida! You can do that by clicking the "donate" button above. Donations are tax deductible!

Received a great question a out the Down syndrome Awareness License Plate and wanted to share with everyone!

When the $33 fee is collected for the voucher that money goes straight to the state for holding until the plate is printed. No money is issued to the organization until printing begins. 🙂

Remember you can follow Down Syndrome Awareness License Plate Florida by OCB for easier access to all the details of the plate vouchers, too!

Please feel free to reach out with any questions!

Buddy Walk Season is approaching quickly! Tell us where you’ll be walking:

To all our friends visiting the NDSC conference this weekend, we are sad we couldn’t make it out this year but, you can stop and visit our friends at Down Syndrome Foundation of Florida for information on the Florida Down syndrome awareness license plate!

Have you visited our page for details on the Down syndrome awareness license plate? Visit Down Syndrome Awareness License Plate Florida by OCB to learn more on the who/what/when/where/why & how!

Design those socks!

People celebrate World Down Syndrome Day by wearing crazy socks.
Now, it's your opportunity to create a sock design that people worldwide will proudly wear to commemorate World Down Syndrome Day on 3-21-2024. National Down Syndrome Society Down Syndrome International

Click here to apply!

https://johnscrazysocks.com/pages/world-down-syndrome-sock-design-contest

WHERE DOES THE MONEY FOR A FLORIDA DS LICENSE PLATE GO AND WHO DOES IT HELP? Great Questions!

In an effort to be completely transparent in our goal to have the Florida Down syndrome awareness plate approved, we would like to update our fellow advocates on the intention of all profits earned through the continuous sales of these license plates.

Typically, a specialty license plate is “assigned” to one organization. Therefore the money is sent to that one organization. Currently, Our City Beautiful is the only organization that has taken on the tremendous amount of work (see post HOW IS A SPECIALTY LICENSE PLATE APPROVED for more details on the approval process) it takes to have a license plate created. This process is not anywhere near finished and could take up to a year, or more.
Since there is typically only one organization that would mean 100% of proceeds would be sent to Our City Beautiful.

Our intent is to set the cost of the plate at $25 (this is an addition to the cost of your typical DMV fee). We feel this is a good and fair price to keep it affordable while making worthwhile to the organization.

OCB would like to allocate the funds from the proceeds accordingly: (2022 update, this breakdown has been approved and is in the statute)

1. 50% dedicated to the build/maintenance of HOLLAND, the proposed affordable housing subdivision for independent living.

2. 15% dedicated to OCB’s scholarship for higher learning. This scholarship is available to people with Down syndrome, aged 18+ who wish to further their education.

3. 35% to be used as grants to fellow organizations, in the state of Florida to support their own scholarship and/or employment assistance programs.

The team at OCB knows the value of each and every organization that has dedicated their time, love, and resources to enhancing the lives of people with Down syndrome. We truly feel we are bettering our own capability to make an impact by taking on this project, while sharing the results of everyone’s advocacy.

Our City Beautiful

Florida Friends and Family-
I’ve done a check on our status for pre order sales; we are at 46 out of the 3,000 required for these to print.

I’ve noticed a common thought from many people of: “I’ll wait to buy mine until they come out” - I can not stress this next point enough; With this thought, the plate will never go to print. Too many people are relying on everyone else to see that this plate comes to life. Without YOU doing your part, whatever that may be (sharing the information, purchasing a voucher for you or as a gift, etc) we will be standing in the same spot we have been the last 9 months.

Please, I urge you to share the information on purchasing a plate, explaining why this plate is more than just another thing, and purchasing your voucher. Without sales we will not succeed in this venture!

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IMPORTANT NOTES: - 1. You do NOT need to be a Seminole county resident to order through their website. We are pushing orders through them for ease of communication and progress tracking. You may visit any local tax collector office to order. A tax collectors office is the ONLY legitimate office/website you can find this plate. (Or at an event where Our City Beautiful is present and you can find those details on our FB page).

2. These are pre-sales only right now. You will not receive your plate in the mail right away. Per the state of Florida legislation, we MUST accumulate 3,000 pre-sales before plates will print. This could take 2 months or 2 years; it all depends on us and how much we advocate for it.

STEPS TO ORDER:

1. Visit : https://client.pointandpay.net/web/SeminoleCountyLPVoucher

2. Use Drop Down Box and choose DOWN SYNDROME

3. Enter details and Pay Fee.

4. SHARE SHARE SHARE with friends and family.

5. Share, again and again! 🙂 We NEED and appreciate your advocacy!

Don’t for get to send in your applications for the WORLD CHANGER scholarship! Deadline is approaching!

We're BLESSED to welcome the Third annual WORLD CHANGER SCHOLARSHIP application opening!

If you're an individual with Down syndrome, age 18+ and plan to continue /are continuing your education in a post secondary program (college, beauty school, trade school, etc) then you should be applying for this scholarship!

Read through the application instructions and choose which application is right for you! We can't wait to meet you.

INSTRUCTIONS:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_Usmf6tg7IVmFXL42tFGJANzntbHoHuYD_2WxBX6LUQ/edit?usp=sharing

NEW APPLICANTS:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hB6Gko99i6mQmh4imIdKToWyBLq59Op03SRUFzW-_ng/edit

RETURNING APPLICANTS:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oxZCQXNoNatVSEvH29HCfous7wFgGF-D0br6hZ0ZeA4/edit

Please check your emails for updates on the Barbie with Down syndrome give a way!