Dress Down with the Dawgs Campaign
About
Extra Special People, Inc. (ESP) is a nonprofit organization that empowers individuals with disabilities through year-round programs and community involvement. ESP@UGA is a student-led club that raises awareness, promotes inclusion, and fundraises to support ESP’s mission across Georgia.
I was elected President of ESP@UGA in May 2019 after serving for one year as Marketing Chair on the executive board. After interviewing potential candidates, I selected seven executive members to join me in leading the organization. Our work began immediately, with our primary focus shifting to the Dress Down for the Dawgs campaign. Instead of traditionally dressing up, as is the SEC game-day tradition, students were challenged to dress down to show support for individuals with Down syndrome.
As President, my goal was to initiate partnerships across campus. My first meeting was with The University of Georgia’s Student Government Association Legislators from the Committee on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity. Following our meeting, we developed a new plan to make the second year of the Dress Down campaign a success.
We reached out to the University of South Carolina’s Student Government Association (SGA) to form the first ever SEC partnership where two schools’ SGAs signed identical proclamations in support of one cause. We called it “Dress Down with the Dawgs” for the UGA vs. USC game on October 12, 2019.
UGA Proclamation
The official proclamation was signed on October 1, 2019. "The purpose of this Proclamation is to garner support from the University of Georgia student body and Bulldog community in recognition and support of students with Down syndrome and disabilities. Through this Proclamation, the University of Georgia Student Government Association and the University of South Carolina Student Government will partner to encourage students, faculty, staff, and fans to Dress Down for the October 12, 2019 home football game against the University of South Carolina."
USC Proclamation
The University of South Carolina Student Government Association signed their proclamation on October 3, 2019 to encourage their students to Dress Down at the game against UGA. To further promote the partnership, both schools’ SGAs came together with us to film a promo leading up to the game.
In the News
Extra Special People plan ‘Dress Down with the Dawgs’ for Georgia-South Carolina game
Samantha Perez | Contributor
Oct 10, 2019
Rivals team up for “Dress Down with the Dawgs” campaign
By Sarah Freund | Correspondent
Oct 11, 2019
Partnerships
Dress Down Committee
UGA Redcoats
Miss UGA
Tailgate Georgia
UGA Sororities
UGA Gym Dogs
Athens Chick-fil-A
UGA Kappas
UGA Paintline
The UGA Paintline invited one of ESP’s participants, Adnan, to join them during the game as the “!” in “Dress Down Dawgs!” It was Adnan’s first football game, and he was celebrated in an incredibly unique way.
UGA Homecoming
For the second year in a row, we earned first place in the UGA Homecoming red division with our theme, “Dress Downtown for the Dawgs.” It was a huge accomplishment and a great night celebrating all that Dress Down was able to bring to people’s attention.
After the football season
Tailgate Georgia pressed custom Dress Down t-shirts in-store. After football season, Tailgate invited us to their store to be awarded a $5,000 check from the AEO Foundation for the work we did through Dress Down.
Reflection
I worked harder on this project than I ever have before. I am incredibly proud of what we were able to accomplish, and I am so grateful for the amazing people I got to work with. I can’t think of a better way to showcase how dedicated and passionate I am about projects I believe in.
If you remember the 2019 UGA vs. USC game, UGA went into overtime and ultimately lost. It was at this game that I made my first debut on national television and became a meme across Twitter:
#DressDownwiththeDawgs!!!