Keep Calm T-Shirts

Blog by Xanthe Breen, DSA Press and Campaigns Officer

At the national offices of the Down’s Syndrome Association (DSA) we receive lots of photographs of people with Down’s syndrome doing various activities from our members and parents, a few weeks ago we received a picture of Ben.

Ben’s proud mum had made the t-shirt he is wearing to help promote awareness about Down’s syndrome. We loved the picture and Ben’s t-shirt so promptly posted it on Facebook. Within a few hours the post had received a large number of likes, to-date the current total of likes received is 71,676, with over 400,000 people having seen the post. Ben and his family are delighted with the response to his picture. A lot of the comments also asked “where can I get a t-shirt?” So with permission from Ben and his family we have recreated Ben’s original t-shirt so that we can all join the Keep Calm Gang.
We hope that everyone will help raise positive awareness about living with Down’s syndrome and wear the DSA Keep Calm T-shirt.

We have produced a limited run of t-shirts in the following sizes:
Children – aged 3-4, 5-7, 9-11 – £8 plus £2 p&p – order today – http://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/shop/merchandise/fundraising/1281-kids-t-shirts-2.html
Adults – Small, Medium, Large and X Large – £10 plus £ 2 p&p – order today – http://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/shop/merchandise/fundraising/1282-adults-t-shirts-2.html

Why help raise awareness and show support for Ben?
Ben is a bright and wonderful ten year old from Doncaster where he lives with his Mum Lynn, Dad Dennis and his older brothers Hale and Aaron. As you can see from Ben’s picture he is a happy boy and doing well in day to day life. For Ben that has not always been the case as he has battled two different types of Leukaemia in his short life so far. At aged 23 months he was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia which he was successfully treated for. By the age of 4 Ben was diagnosed with a rare form of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia which was diagnosed after an unusual break to his leg. Now aged 10, Ben is currently four years clear of cancer following successful chemotherapy therapy. Ben does however have a weak immune system which means he has to avoid certain situations to maintain good health and keep well. Ben is not able to mix with big groups of people due to his weak immune system. So once you have your t-shirt we want you to take a picture and send it back to us so we can make a picture wall of the Keep Calm Gang to pass onto Ben.

Remember to always – Keep Calm it’s only an extra chromosome.