2007 : A Year in Review
By Carolina Freund, SANDS President

Beginning in January, we elected our 9 member Board of Directors.  Since then, we have had some major changes already in our Board but we continue to have 9 incredibly enthusiastic and hard-working members of our community serving our cause.  Also in January, we kicked off the new year by hosting the internationally renowned therapeutic program, Yoga for the Special Child, here in Tucson where many of our local kids got a chance to participate in a free 1/2 hour demonstration.

In 2007, SANDS was the charity of choice for three different companies/organizations who are giving back to our community.  US HOME/LENNAR's "Swing for Life" fundraiser awarded us with $2,000 this year. 

We were also chosen by Wachovia Dealer Services as the beneficiary of their annual Golf Tournament.  The tournament was held November 11th at Arizona National Golf Course.  My husband, Eric Freund, co-founder of SANDS and former President, represented SANDS in the tournament playing in honor of our son, Zoe.  We were presented with one of those "BIG" checks for $14,000!!! WOW!  Thank you Wachovia Dealer Services for your dedication to our community!

In addition, AD2 chose SANDS as the recipients of their annual Media/Publicity Campaign.  Worth thousands of advertising dollars, they will be working close with the SANDS Board to develop a media and communications strategy that will help SANDS for many years to come. 

In 2007, we have helped countless families through our Give it Back! Program which offers sponsorships to individuals with Down syndrome.  Our Community Group Sponsorship Program made it possible to be a major sponsor for the 2nd Annual Hispanic Conference for Special Needs organized by Crecer Con Amor and also the sponsor for the Crecer Con Amor Book Publication.  In addition, we sponsored the St. Coletta's Young Adult Group. 

And finally, our 2007 Tucson Buddy Walk was an amazing success.  Thank you Buddy Walk Coordinators, Frank and Caroline Ganz for your dedication and hard work. 

The end of 2007 will be the end of our "provisional period" with the IRS.  After three full years of operation as a 501(c) (3), they will be analyzing all that we have done to make a final determination of our non-profit status.  When they approve us, we will have reached the final approval status for operating as a 501(c)(3) charity in Arizona.  We have no doubts that this will happen and we are so excited for the many years to come and all that we have left to accomplish.

I want to sincerely thank all those who have stepped up and helped us on this incredible journey of creating and making SANDS a recognizable organization.  But more importantly, for helping us make SANDS an organization that really touches and impacts the lives of individuals with Down syndrome in Southern Arizona.  Our inspiration continues to be our children, with Down syndrome, who on a daily basis remind us of what is important and who challenge us to do better and be better people. 

Love and Laughter to all of you...

Carolina Freund
Zoe's step-mom
SANDS President