When Garden City Elementary School secretary Amy Falcone approached Principal Bryan Byerlee to see if the school could celebrate World Down Syndrome Day by raising money for the Down Syndrome Society of Rhode Island and honor her daughter Sophia at the same time, the principal immediately said yes.

Falcone never expected that through the power of social media, so many other schools across the district would also celebrate right along with them, raising approximately $1,800.

“It totally grew from when she asked me,” Byerlee said. “Our Family Engagement Network posted the flyers that Amy made on their social media page and the word spread.”

Falcone has three other children in addition to Sophia, who will be 2 in May and has Down syndrome, and they are in schools throughout the city. Those schools celebrated the day, as did the Briggs building, where the district’s central administration is housed. Other schools heard about the fundraiser and made donations as well.

“I wanted to do class rewards for the class that raised the most money and bring in pizza, but when my friend Kaylin Habchi heard about it, she insisted that her family’s restaurant, Minerva’s, would donate it,” Falcone said. “It was truly a community effort.”

Falcone brought in blue and yellow donuts from Allie’s Donuts on Thursday morning, and at Garden City School and schools all over the city, staff and students were decked out in blue and yellow in honor of the day.

At Little Learners Academy, where Sophia is enrolled, the school matched whatever donations were raised and contributed to the fundraiser as well.

“They’ve been wonderful at Little Learners,” Falcone said.

On Thursday morning, Garden City Elementary School got a special treat as Sophia paid the students a visit, taking a stroll through the hallways and visiting classrooms of students for photos and to blow kisses to all her fans.

“This means so much to me,” Falcone said. “It’s just amazing the amount of support that we’ve gotten.”

For more information about the Down Syndrome Society of Rhode Island or to find out more about Down syndrome, visit dssri.org.