CHASING HAZEL FOUNDATION

Family seeks to ‘educate, advocate’

Five-year-old Hazel Seguin is a little different — but in many ways so much like any other young child.

To better advocate for their daughter and other children born with Down syndrome, her parents on Monday launched the Chasing Hazel Foundation.

Stephanie and Matt Seguin hope the foundation will give local families a single place to turn to for constant support — both personally and financially — as they raise children with Down syndrome.

“This is just to bring the community together,” Stephanie said of the foundation. “We want to take something that might be perceived as a negative in the past, bring it out and have everyone talk about this more.

“We want educate, advocate and make this more a community affair rather than just have people impacted by Down syndrome who are involved.”

The new entity is based on the Chasing Hazel blog Stephanie started in 2012. The blog describes her experiences with her daughter and counters misconceptions about the genetic disorder, with which one in every 1,000 babies is born.

“Advocating for Hazel the last five years we have learned her abilities should be highlighted and the focus on things she can do, rather than what she can’t,” Stephanie said. “Our hope is for these children to be celebrated as any other child and whatever strengths they might have.”

Inclusion in activities or education is a big part of the foundation’s mandate, Seguin said.

Some of the things the foundation could fund include the formation of local play groups and financial assistance for medical situations, which often involve procedures that can only be performed outside of Windsor.

“We love Hazel as any parent would love their five-year-old child,” Stephanie said. “We know she is not the same as any child, but we want to make her differences celebrated and acceptable.”

The announcement by the Seguin family Monday was made to coincide with the celebration of World Down syndrome Day on Tuesday.

To learn more about The Chasing Hazel Foundation go to chasinghazelfoundation.org.

We know she is not the same as any child, but we want to make her differences celebrated and acceptable.

NICK BRANCACCIO Hazel Seguin, 5, snuggles with her dad, Matt Seguin, while her sister Nola, 3, is held by mom Stephanie Seguin during launch of The Chasing Hazel Foundation on Monday. The foundation aims to advocate for children born with Down syndrome and provide...