LAWRENCEVILLE — Annie Bourke, 22, who has Down’s Syndrome, is one of the lucky ones. She earned one of the 40 slots in the Happy Club. The founders, Lawrenceville residents Lisa and Bruce Downs, didn’t want it to be so exclusive, but they just don’t have the room for the 40 other people on the waiting list to join. “We have almost no turnover,” said Lisa Downs. The Downs started this club chapter in 1992 because they saw a gap in services for Lawrenceville teenagers and young adults with developmental disabilities. They wanted to give them a way to socialize. “It’s important for them to have an opportunity to get out and do things,” said Lisa Downs. But the Downs only have two loaner buses with room for about 30 members for each of the two activities they hold every month. Club members go to dances, the zoo, puppet shows, movies, Six Flags — Annie’s favorite — and other activities. “I like it a lot so I always go. Sometimes we go to lunch. Sometimes we go to the Stone Mountain laser show,” said Bourke of Lawrenceville Many of the club members have jobs, but don’t get many chances to meet other people to hang out with, Lisa Downs said. Their next adventure will take them Christmas shopping. “Annie has been saving her money to go shopping. She’s excited about doing it herself,” said her mother, Nancy Bourke. Spending seven years with the Happy Club has helped Annie Bourke become more independent, according to her mother. “They ask us to volunteer sometimes. She does not want us to go. It’s her time,” said Nancy Bourke. The Downs try to teach their members independence and other skills, such as how to order at restaurants, for the public’s sake as well. “It helps educate the public that they aren’t so different,” said Lisa Downs.

The Downs wish they could offer more opportunities for all this learning and would welcome a second chapter in Lawrenceville. They are already working to start a chapter in the Peachtree Corners area out of the YMCA’s Robert D. Fowler Family Branch. To join the Happy Club, applicants pay the annual $30 membership fee to the YMCA’s Decatur-DeKalb branch, where the Downs also borrow the buses. Because they depend on private donations, the $800 donated this year by the Peach State Nova and Chevy Enthusiasts Club went to help the Peachtree Corners effort. The Peach State club has donated almost $2,000 to the Happy Club during the last three years. “People with special needs in their late teens and early 20s kind of fall through the cracks so that’s why we wanted to support them,” said Peach State member Joette Segars. For more details about the car club, call 770-921-5422. For more information about the Happy Club, call the DeKalb YMCA at 404-377-0241