{"id":3014,"date":"2024-12-20T16:49:04","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T21:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/?p=3014"},"modified":"2024-12-20T16:53:54","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T21:53:54","slug":"meet-sandy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/meet-sandy\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Sandy"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Meet Sandy<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Spotlight: An advocate and mother of two<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Sandy\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Meet Sandy \u2014a passionate advocate and mother of two incredible children, Lennox and Mara. Watch below to hear her inspirational story.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Sandy\u2019s journey to grow her family was complicated and emotional. \u00a0After overcoming several challenges, she and her husband were excited and hopeful when they learned she was pregnant \u2014until they received the news that their child would almost certainly have Down syndrome. They quickly transformed their initial disappointment into optimism and a search for knowledge.\u00a0<\/p>

Seeing her 5-year-old daughter, Mara, thrive today, Sandy now considers herself one of the lucky ones. She has an active voice in the Down syndrome community\u2014 using her social media platform to share her experiences and empower other families who are navigating the journey of raising a child with IDD. The positive impact people like Sandy have on fellow parents and caregivers was the catalyst for Best Buddies\u2019 new Eunie\u2019s Buddies program, in which experienced caregivers are paired with new parents of children with IDD to provide support and suggest helpful resources. \u00a0<\/p>

Eunie\u2019s Buddies is more than just a peer group \u2014it’s a community where families find encouragement, share experiences, and build a brighter future together.\u00a0Help mentors like Sandy and the future families that need their support by donating today.\u00a0Your contribution will create lasting connections where they are needed the most. \u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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A matched rivalry in giving. <\/br>Support Best Buddies this holiday season.<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Your Support Transforms Lives<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"Sandy<\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tMeet Sandy\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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A passionate a advocate and mother of two.<\/p>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tMeet Andres\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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A Best Buddies Living resident and advocate for inclusion.<\/p>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tMeet Fran\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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Best Buddies Global Ambassador, Board Member, Jobs participant, and talented rapper.<\/p>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tMeet Lonnie\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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A Chicago native who works 20-30 hours a week in his dream job.<\/p>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t

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A friendship that’s more than just a bond.<\/p>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tMeet Hunter Huff\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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My life before joining this organization was very challenging. It was hard for me to make friends.<\/p>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A passionate a advocate and mother of two.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":3010,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-best-buddies-participants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3014"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3025,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3014\/revisions\/3025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}