Coachella Valley residents to be featured on New York Jumbotron

Four Coachella Valley residents were chosen to be featured on a jumbotron in New York's Times Square by the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS).

Every year NSSS selects 500 people to be featured on the jumbotron as a way to bring awareness and advocacy for the group. Four of those participants will be from the Coachella Valley.

One of them is Gracie Thompson, a five-year-old described by her mother Mara Thompson to be a friendly, happy girl with a passion for music. Her photo will be her wearing a 'Wiggles' costume to represent her love for music.

Gracie's siblings will be flying to New York to represent Gracie during the weekend.

The second photo will feature three other members who are part of Ezekiel's Gift of Love Foundation. The foundation works with local families who have members of their families with Down syndrome.

This feature is described to be the opportunity of a lifetime and a way to represent the Coachella Valley across the country according to Mara Thompson.