Many causes have awareness ribbons associated with them. For Katia and Mike Hauser, the royal blue and gold awareness ribbon was not enough to show the pride they had in their daughter. Instead, they developed a footprint; a footprint that represented Annaliese, their daughter who was born with Down syndrome. The footprint showed a large gap between the big-toe and the second-toe, a medical marker that can occur in those who have Down syndrome. Katia and Mike could not have imagined the response they would receive from others who also wanted to show their support and pride for those who have Down syndrome.           

The Hausers began their business with a vinyl vehicle expression showing the footprint symbol, a symbol which has now been registered as a trademark. Katia then began to receive requests from other individuals who wanted similar decals, some with personalization. Because of the success of the vinyl decals, the Hausers decided to turn their passion into a business. In September 2009, they officially launched their website, downsyndromefootprint.org, as a means of selling Down syndrome awareness products such as clothing, jewelry, vinyl expressions and other accessories.            

“The goal of our company is to make people aware, employ those with Down syndrome and empower them,” Katia Hauser said. According to Hauser, the long-term goal is to ensure someone with Down syndrome is employed by their products—from production to packaging. They are hopeful that this company will also provide an employment avenue for their daughter in the future.             

“Last fall we began to receive a lot of interest and knew that there was a need for this business,” Katia said. She initially contacted Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation in November 2009. “Charlie Walker contacted us very quickly and helped answer our questions,” Hauser explained. “CCEDC really gave us the direction and encouragement we needed,” she continued. According to Katia, Charlie was helpful in providing much-needed community contacts, some of whom presented community resource donations to the company.           

CCEDC also worked with Katia to provide information on women-owned businesses and the unique resources that are available to these entrepreneurs. In addition, Walker and the CCEDC staff worked with Katia to find suitable office space. Most importantly, CCEDC was instrumental in assisting Down Syndrome Footprint with obtaining a regional loan. The loan will assist with marketing efforts and will ensure an inventory of products at its Chippewa Falls office.            

Katia and Mike hope to continue raising awareness of Down syndrome through their business and their products. Katia is attending a conference in Kansas during March and the new, updated website will be available on March 15. As they look to the future, Katia knows that there will be more questions that arise. Fortunately, she feels that they have found an organization that can help them through many inquiries. “Charlie has been our person to go to with questions. If he doesn’t know the answer, he will find someone who does,” she said. “Jerilyn has always been available to help us as well,” she continued. “It has really been an overall positive experience,” Katia concluded.