“The Papaleo family have been instrumental in supporting thousands of individuals and families through their work and advocacy over the past 45 years. If not for the Papaleo family, alongside other founding members, people with Down syndrome and their families would not have the opportunities they do today. This extends to my own daughter and family, and, personally, my job, in which I am privileged to help steer such an important and impactful organisation. I, along with our Victorian community, say thank you to the Papaleo family.”
Dan Payne, CEO, Down Syndrome Victoria
The Papaleo family’s impact
Lou Papaleo was one of the founders of DSAV. This was around 1978 when his daughter Steph was born with Down syndrome. Lou then became the president at DSAV, in a volunteer capacity for several years. Luisa Papaleo, the wife of Lou, was also on the committee in the early years of DSAV. Luisa spent about a decade volunteering and helped many parents look after their babies.
Steph’s thoughts
“After I was born, there wasn’t much information about Down syndrome, so my Mum (Luisa) and Dad (Lou) joined other parents and formed the Down Syndrome Association of Victoria in 1978. In the early days they focused on supporting new parents, visited hospitals and educated people about Down syndrome.
I am proud of the work Mum and Dad did because they helped so many parents look after their babies, and they volunteered at DSAV for over 10 years. I am proud of my work at DSAV over the past 27 years, alongside the contributions of my sister Nicole and brother Andrew, and I am sure my nieces will also be involved with DSV when they are older.
Everyone worked as volunteers for many years until Fae Egan, along with a few other people, were employed as staff members. It wasn’t long after this that I started working at DSAV in 1998. Thanks Dad, for keeping Fae on her toes.”