Clearbrook Preschooler Headed to Times Square

Credit: Rhonda Schaffer

A local preschooler is about to be featured in the bright lights of Times Square. Reporter Ryan Fleming takes us to Clearbrook, where Emi Schaffer’s family is preparing for the big moment. At just 3 years old, Emi Schaffer is headed for a big stage. The Clearbrook preschooler, who has Down syndrome, was chosen from more than 2,700 entries to have her picture featured in the National Down Syndrome Society’s Times Square presentation.

“We were honestly scared of the diagnosis.” Said Rhonda Schaffer, Emi’s mother. “But that was before we knew better. And now that Amy is here, we don’t see the diagnosis anymore. We just see our beautiful little girl, and I hope that’s what other families see. And I hope that they’re not scared of the diagnosis either, because it’s just a very, very small part of who she is.”

What started as a simple snapshot at home soon became something much bigger for the Schaffers, and the photo ultimately chosen carries a little extra family meaning.

“From a quiet home in Clearbrook, to the bright lights in Times Square. One picture of Emi is about to make quite the journey.”

“I submitted three very different photos, but we had one in particular that I knew seeing that on a big jumbo-tron would really stand out. And it’s actually of me writing her little vintage radio flyer car that my husband wanted for her before she was even born.”

For Emi’s dad, the Times Square Spotlight is more than just a picture, it’s a joyful milestone after some much tougher ones.

“Three years old and had three major medical, you know, surgeries, things like that.” Said Todd Schaffer, Emi’s father. “And so one life has these big, heavy moments that come at you and all this. It’s really nice that there’s things out there that offset it with these big positive moments.”

For this family, the bright lights of New York represent more than a moment on the screen, they’re a chance for her to grow up knowing she was seen, celebrated, and surrounded by a group of people that believe she belongs.

“I hope you know that she’ll, in her own way, recognize, like, wow, I’m here. I’m seeing,  I count, I’m included. You know, and this all matters, and my friends matter.”