{"id":127577,"date":"2021-04-16T17:05:31","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T21:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/indianapolis\/?p=127577"},"modified":"2021-04-16T17:05:31","modified_gmt":"2021-04-16T21:05:31","slug":"violet-zola-chaffee-3-21-youth-honorees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/indianapolis\/violet-zola-chaffee-3-21-youth-honorees\/","title":{"rendered":"Violet & Zola Chaffee, 3.21 Youth Honorees"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

These sisters are the epitome of acceptance. Eight-year-old Zola was adopted from Ethiopia and her seven-year-old sister Violet was adopted from China. Violet also has Down syndrome.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe live in a box of\u00a0advocacy\u00a0and I love that role,\u201d says their\u00a0mom\u00a0Megan Chaffee. \u201cWe are advocating acceptance for a black daughter. We are advocating acceptance for a child with Down syndrome.\u00a0Both of them\u00a0belong and\u00a0both of them\u00a0are worthy of being accepted.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, it is fitting that this year\u2019s virtual 3.21 Run is part of a larger #AcceptanceChallenge among\u00a0GiGi\u2019s\u00a0Playhouses nationwide \u2013 part of a mission to change the way the world views Down syndrome.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe chose our girls,\u201d Megan adds. \u201cWe knew Violet had Down syndrome before we ever brought her home. In fact, we chose her from a list of children less likely to be adopted because they had physical and intellectual disabilities. We just fell in love with her face and knew we had room in our hearts and our home for her.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Megan and her husband XXX connected with\u00a0GiGi\u2019s\u00a0Playhouse before they even brought Violet home; having honest conversations with other parents about what it meant to raise a child with Down syndrome.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGiGi\u2019s\u00a0was such a great place for us to get to know other families and find the support we needed,\u201d Megan says. \u201cAnd now to see the excitement on Violet\u2019s face when we pull up to the Playhouse and to watch her explore in a safe place where she can be herself; it\u2019s freeing. It\u2019s just a unique and beautiful place.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Megan says\u00a0GiGi\u2019s\u00a0has also been\u00a0a safe haven\u00a0for Zola; a place where she can connect with the siblings of other kids with Down syndrome.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Violet is in remarkably good health. While she still aspirates and is a bit delayed in speech; her hearing, eyesight, and heart all seem to be unaffected. Now finishing kindergarten, Violet is fiercely independent and constantly on the move \u2013 running, riding her bike, and climbing anything in her path. She loves to watch movies and of course, play with her big sister.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Megan offers this advice to new parents of children with Down syndrome, \u201cIt\u2019s okay to be scared and it\u2019s okay to grieve. It is all part of the process. But there will be a time when you come to accept that these kids are kids. They\u2019re not broken, and they have the power to bring as much, if not more, joy to your family as your other children.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Chaffee family plans to host a neighborhood walk to raise money for the virtual 3.21 Run on Saturday, June 5th to raise money for the programs they have personally benefited from including LMNOP,\u00a0GiGiFit\u00a0Kids, and Kindergarten Prep.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s still more work to be done when it comes to acceptance of people with Down syndrome, but I have great hope for my girls,\u201d Megan beams. \u201cThe more that we can share their capabilities, the more doors we can open for them.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These sisters are the epitome of acceptance. Eight-year-old Zola was adopted from Ethiopia and her seven-year-old sister Violet was adopted from China. Violet also has Down syndrome.\u00a0 \u201cWe live in a box of\u00a0advocacy\u00a0and I love that role,\u201d says their\u00a0mom\u00a0Megan Chaffee. \u201cWe are advocating acceptance for a black daughter. We are advocating acceptance for a child…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127577\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/indianapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}