Global Down Syndrome

BE BEAUTIFUL BE YOURSELF, BY THE NUMBERS 2009 2017 Gross revenue $1.4 million $2.6 million Attendees 1,100 1,500 No. of auditions vs. spots 16 auditions for 16 spots 100 auditions for 20 spots Funds directed to research and medical care* $56,000 $3.5 million No. of volunteers 30 250 *Includes Global Down Syndrome Foundation fundraising from and in addition to the fashion show CONTINUED ON PAGE 21 to attend? Do you just pick up the phone and, voilà, the celebs line up? Oh heck no. Convincing celebrities to spend two days and one night in Denver can be tough. It may take months. But I do admit we have a magic man. When we first started, I asked my parents to enlist the help of their dear friend, music icon Quincy Jones. Quincy was in Denver, and he met my daughter, Sophia, and he fell in love. He was shocked at how low the funding was for Down syndrome research and immediately agreed to allow us to create the Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award in his name. It has been a great tool to help us recruit busy, accomplished self- advocates with Down syndrome and Hollywood celebrities. Quincy gets it. The first time he spoke to me about this work he said, "These children aren't broken. They don't need fixing. They need society to step up and invest in their future." So how hard is it to get celebrities, and should other nonprofits consider it? I definitely recommend having celebrities for a gala or a dinner. Celebrities will attract fans who are new to your organization. My philosophy has always been that it is not "either/or" but "and." We want people who are connected to Down syndrome and people who are not. We want people who attend because they want to help and those who just want to meet celebrities. If we can convert even a small percentage of the folks who are there for a celebrity into long-term supporters, we have succeeded in increasing our event revenue and growing our base. But I would also warn it is very difficult. We are fortunate because Quincy introduced us to our first Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award winner, DeOndra Dixon. She is one of the most articulate, vivacious self-advocates, and her brother is Jamie Foxx. We also have the fabulous John C. McGinley, whose son has Down syndrome. So each year, we have this anchor of celebrities who are like family. What experiences have you had with celebrities who are new to Global? Gee. It's hard to think back through all the years and all the wonderful celebrities, but three come to mind. I remember Laura Dern reading all the training materials we provided her (yeah!) and speaking about our work on the red carpet with such passion, as if she had known us for a decade. Alec Baldwin attended the same year, and despite people jumping all over him, he insisted on going out to all the tables and finding every attendee with Down syndrome and making sure he got selfies with them. Another year, Terrence Howard was so moved he jumped up and offered a spontaneous live auction item whereby two of our guests could be extras on the set with him in his critically acclaimed smash-hit TV show, Empire. I can't think of any bad experiences (laugh). You often say your models are the true celebrities, and they steal the show every year. Why is that? You have to see the fashion show to fully understand. Our models have a certain energy and truly rock the runway every year. Their confidence, beauty, and poise take people by surprise. I have one dear friend who confided in me that he originally did Ter rence Howard, Jamie Brewer, Minka Kelly, and Beau Bridges Anna and John J. Sie with their grandkids, Sophia and Patrick GLOBALDOWNSYNDROME.ORG 19

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