Roberts, a Gaithersburg resident, founded Reece’s Rainbow, a nonprofit that helps facilitate international adoptions of children with Down syndrome. The organization is named for Roberts’ 9-year-old son, Reece, who has Down syndrome. Tell me about Reece’s Rainbow.
Children with Down syndrome and other special needs abroad are typically hidden away in orphanages throughout Eastern Europe, Russia, Asia and South America. The moms don’t have prenatal care, and they don’t know that their child has special needs until they’re born. When they’re born that way, they put them in orphanages because they can’t care for them. We raise money as adoption grants because it’s very expensive to adopt internationally, as far as airfare, travel and agency fees.
