History of Stand Up For Downs

In 2009, two big things happened…Rob got back into comedy and we had our second son, Henry, who was born with Down syndrome.

That’s pretty much the start of the path our family has taken ever since. In the late 90s, Rob had a modest run at stand up comedy, acting, and improvisation in Chicago. He gave it three good years, had some fun, a few successes, but mostly, it was a long and grinding road which he ultimately decided was not for him. Rob gave it up for about eight years until we moved from Chicago back to Ohio in 2008. In Ohio, Rob felt a minor itch to scratch in the comedy world still and he started performing again. He even began producing comedy events. It was all a bit of fun and enough to scratch the itch that had been building, but not enough to quit the day job.

Then in March of 2009, we had our second son Henry. The world stopped as we learned that he was born with Down syndrome. Our mission in life was now to do whatever it took to give Henry the best life possible. We dove into the Down syndrome community. Rob joined our local DS board, and Ellen began to take advocacy courses. We attended multiple conferences and learned as much as we could on Down syndrome and the organizations and laws that support and benefit those with the condition. But as we did all of this, we felt the need to do just a bit more.

So, in 2012, we had a long talk and decided to create a non-profit. We thought about our experiences and our skills, and decided that one thing we knew how to do was comedy and producing events. So, we decided that this would be our mission, using comedy to benefit or enhance the lives of those with Down syndrome. We put in the work to create a 501(c)3, and recruited some of the people within the community that we felt had similar goals and hopes building the best life possible for those with Down syndrome. They were parents like us, with kids like us, and even better, visions like us.

From there we began producing event after event. Nearly all of the events were based in comedy or they had some sort of comedy element to them. We produced stand up comedy events, 70s disco parties, an 80s Return To Prom, a couple barn bashes, and even a town-wide scavenger hunt. We took the show on the road to Los Angeles, Chicago, Columbus, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Orlando and beyond. In all we have produced over 50 fundraising events and raised over $500,000. With minor expenses, we were still able to donate, grant, or sponsor over $300,000 of what we raised. These funds went to over 75 incredible organizations, causes and individuals in the Down syndrome and disability community.

In 2018, our mission remained but took a bit of a different turn. An old friend helped Rob remember his improvisation training and all of the skills it can build and develop. Rob thought how improvisation could also be used to improve the lives of those with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities. With the help of a local comic/improviser in the Cleveland area, we began teaching improvisation once a month to a group of individuals with Down syndrome. This turned into a weekly class with a group that auditioned to be in the program. This group was called The Improvaneers and made up the first ever all Down syndrome improvisation troupe.

After nearly about a year and a half of training and honing our games and techniques to meet the abilities and skills of the Improvaneers, we performed two sold-out shows in July of 2019. These shows and the uniqueness of our program gained an incredible amount of national attention, which drew an even bigger curiosity to the program and what we were able to accomplish through improvisation. We developed the program further by introducing new games and defining each game to a skillset that would be improved. We built out various levels to the program, trademarked it, and created a proprietary evaluation and certification standard. The program officially became The Improvaneer Method. With national interest in the program and a growing amount of requests, we decided to separate The Improvaneer Method from Stand Up For Downs as a separate business. As of today, The Improvaneer Method has 3 paid employees, over a dozen certified Directors and teaches improvisation both in person and online to over 500 individuals with developmental disabilities throughout the country.

Stand Up For Downs continues to be an organization that uses humor to enhance the lives of those with all developmental disabilities. We have events throughout the year to raise funds and awareness for the disability community. We also use a good portion of our funds to help organizations and individuals pay for Improvaneer Method programs. We feel that the benefits of that program in helping individuals increase important skills that will greatly enhance social, workplace, and lifetime opportunities should never be missed due to lack of funds.

Through this journey, we have learned so much, and we feel we have accomplished much. We know, through the work of the amazing organizations we have helped support, that our son will have the best life possible, as will so many others. Our efforts in helping those organizations and creating awareness about those with developmental disabilities will continue for many years to come. We will do this with passion, creativity, and most importantly, we will do this with laughter.

Thank you to all who have supported our mission, to all those working tirelessly to create better lives for those with developmental disabilities, and for those individuals who continue to show this world that they deserve a seat at the table and a chance at the same opportunities as everyone else.

Ellen and Rob Snow

Co-Founders, Stand Up For Downs