EDMESTON – Pathfinder Village, a remarkable residential community dedicated to people who have Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities, will mark its 30th Anniversary with events on Oct. 1 and 2.  The celebration coincides with the start of National Down Syndrome Month, an annual event established to call attention to the talents and contributions of America’s citizens who have Down syndrome.

The formal observance of the Village’s Anniversary will take place with a reception and dinner at the Otesaga Resort Hotel, Cooperstown, on the evening of Friday, Oct. 1.  The keynote speaker for the event is Andrea Roberts, founder of Reece’s Rainbow, an organization that promotes the international adoption of children with Down syndrome.  Mrs. Roberts was featured last March in People Magazine’s “Heroes Among Us” column, and is “in the running” for the magazine’s Hero of the Year Contest.

Mrs. Roberts gave birth to her son, Reece, who has Down syndrome, in April 2002.  Through research, she learned that children born with developmental disabilities in other countries are often abandoned at orphanages, where they receive inadequate care and few educational or therapeutic support services.  She now heads a 501c3 organization that promotes the international adoption of children with Down syndrome and raises funds to help families with these adoptions.  To date Reece’s Rainbow has helped place nearly 200 children in loving supportive homes, and has brought the plight of hundreds of others to the attention of “forever families.”  More information may be found on the Reece’s Rainbow web site, www.reecesrainbow.org.