NY Woman Helping Grant Wishes For People With Down Syndrome Across The Nation

WILLISTON PARK, N.Y. (CBS 2) -- An Ulster County woman is working to grant wishes for people with Down syndrome.

"People aren't always very kind so I just felt this was one way to honor people with Down syndrome and helping them have something special for themselves," Kim Adams told CBS 2's Cindy Hsu.

Kim Adams works as a CAT Scan technician, but spends even more hours working with Gifts From the Heart for Downs, which she founded in July 2010. She decided to grant wishes all over the country after facing the challenges of getting what she needed for her children. She adopted Judy and Matthew when they were babies. Matthew is now 17 and Judy is 12.

"I always put myself in that parents position, so it's very emotional for me," Adams said.

The family raises all the money on their own to grant the wishes, and Adams spends hours on the phone arranging everything from a meet-and-greet with celebrities to equipment the children need.

On Wednesday, Adams drove two-and-a-half hours to Williston Park to surprise 6-year-old Brian and 9-year-old Mady with iPads to help with their communication.

"I can't express what it means because he really needed this and it's so out of reach for so many of us and she makes it happen," said Robin Roach, Brian's mother.

"I was shocked that somebody would really go above and beyond in their own free time to do this," said Laura Sipperley, Mady's mother.

Since last year, she has granted 30 wishes and she's working on another 45.

"I don't choose. I take them all, unless they're unreasonable. If they're a reasonable request, a stroller, a wheelchair, a meet-and-greet, I don't have the heart to turn them away," Adams said.

Please leave a comment below...