It’s not often that students get to have a great time with friends while also supporting someone in need, specifically a young child who cannot help himself.

That chance is coming up on April 29. In conjunction with CSLEPS and an organization called Reece’s Rainbow, a group of students is organizing a basketball tournament to raise money to help with the adoption of Artem, a Russian orphan with Down syndrome.

Reece’s Rainbow is an international Down syndrome orphan ministry dedicated to getting children with Down syndrome adopted into good, loving homes. They primarily look for American and Canadian families to adopt these children who need extra care and support than they get in their home countries and in the orphanages.

“They need special resources. A lot of them are born with heart conditions and other disorders,” Sarah Baist, a freshman in First Year College and one of the organizers of the event, said. “They need a lot of medical attention and they don’t get it.”

Rebecca Burton, a freshman in chemical engineering, explained that a vast number of prenatally-diagnosed Down syndrome cases are aborted.

“About half of the children born are put up for adoption because either the children aren’t wanted or the families don’t have resources to care for them,” Burton said.

Baist wanted to help Reece’s Rainbow because she supports the work they do and they are not a well-known organization. She explained that they need all the help they can get.

“They don’t have a central location, but they do a lot for these children. So they need a lot of support,” Baist said.

Both Burton and Baist have sisters with Down syndrome as well, which they said contributes to their passion for this cause.

“We understand how much nurturing these children need,” Burton said.

“It’s very close to our hearts. We understand the beauty these children hold,” Baist said.

CSLEPS’s Leadership Development Committee is helping out with the organization of the event, headed up by the director of the committee, Hunter Isgrig, a sophomore in agriculture business management.

Isgrig said the cause is something the University community has not gotten involved with before.

“When I took over this position, the idea was there already. I got involved because I think it’s an awesome cause,” Isgrig said.

The basketball tournament is being held not only to support Reece’s Rainbow and their work, but more specifically to help get a little boy with Down syndrome adopted.

Artem, a three-year-old who lives in Russia, is currently not getting the care he needs. The group organizing the event calls themselves “Artem’s Angels.”

“We fell in love with him as soon as we saw those pictures,” Burton said.

Baist believes a family will give him the support he needs to develop and grow at a steady pace with the help of a good school system and lots of love.

“He is a little bit behind in his developmental skills,” Baist said.

When Baist contacted Reece’s Rainbow about doing a fundraiser for them, she said they picked a child who needed funds the most to be the focus of the fundraiser.

Both Baist and Burton hope students will come out and support these children and help Artem find a family, while also having a great time playing basketball.

Drinks and food will be on sale, and they have received food donations from various companies in the Raleigh area. Baist said she has also been in contact with the Triangle Down Syndrome network which is helping to spread the word.

The tournament will take place on April 29 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Carmichael Gymnasium’s basketball courts 1 and 2. It costs $15 for a team of three to play.

Above all, Baist said the whole event is about helping the children.

“They don’t judge people by appearances. They have this sense of purity that a lot of us have lost,” Baist said.

Baist and Burton are very dedicated to the cause and believe that other people’s lives have been touched by these children.

“I think everyone is impacted by someone with Down syndrome or other special needs,” Burton said.

“We want to spread the word,” Baist said, “and share our love for these children and show how incredibly special they are.”

For more information, check out Artem’s Angels Facebook group.