BOARDMAN — To better serve more local families, the Down Syndrome Association of the Valley is more than doubling its office space — from 1,100 square feet to 2,400 square feet — at 945 Boardman-Canfield Road.

The expansion will allow the DSAV to help the growing number of families touched by Down syndrome, as well as expand its programs and services. To fund this expansion, the DSAV is launching a capital campaign.

The DSAV opened in 2009 and founder Michelle Jones, who now serves as board president, saw the need from her own family perspective.

“In 2004, my daughter Lauren was born” and diagnosed with Down syndrome, Jones said. “In 2007, along with my husband Ken and one other family, we founded the organization. We held a picnic (that year) on the rainiest autumn day ever, and 100 people showed up.”

That number of guests made Jones realize families needed a local place to turn to for help, services and support. Jones and another family came together and opened the DSAV in the plaza at the corner of U.S. Route 224 and Parkside Drive.

For the first three years, the DSAV operated out of a single suite at the plaza. It was run completely by volunteers in the beginning. In 2012, the decision was made to hire a part-time director for the programs and services, and to help organize the volunteers. That job went to Debbie Williams.

Along with the board members and volunteers, Williams helped establish the Buddy Walk, a major fundraiser held at Eastwood Field, behind the Eastwood Mall in Niles.

“We will celebrate our 15th Buddy Walk this year,” Williams said.

She said the DSAV is a member office of the Down Syndrome Association. It is one of a few hundred offices across the nation, and serves a wide area. When it was opened, the DSAV had people from western Pennsylvania calling to seek information and services.

Williams said it is not that more people have Down syndrome, but the families are reaching out more. This year so far, six new families reached out for support.

Needs are increasing because life expectancy for those with Down syndome continues to increase.

“In the 1970s and ’80s, those with Down syndrome were usually institutionalized, or locked away from society,” Jones said. “The average lifespan for a person with Down syndrome was 25 years of age.”

She said today, with the services and care available, the life expectancy has risen to 60. Jones said that is why the need is great for the DSAV office, providing programs and services for all ages from birth well into adulthood.

With needs on the rise, Jones said everyone knew it was time to take things to the next level. Williams was hired full time and the group took over the neighboring suite and combined the spaces. Both suites were gutted this year as preparations got underway for the expansion project.

The renovation will allow for an expanded toddler play area, adult programs and life skills, private speech / tutor rooms, a therapy / fitness room, a full-sized kitchen for cooking and nutrition classes, and ample space for parents and caregivers to meet comfortably and share their journey. This extra space also will allow DSAV to provide more programs, more opportunities, and more support to the members with Down syndrome and their families, officials said.

The expanded center will be renamed “The Regional Down Syndrome Center for Success of Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.” To cover the cost of this expansion, a capital campaign is happening, in which everyone will have an opportunity to be a 3.21 Champion for Down Syndrome.

“3.21 has special meaning for the DSAV,” Jones said. “March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day.”

The campaign will be seeking donations of $321 to become a 3.21 Champion. Larger donations are needed for everything from the Life Skills Kitchen to the Center Stage planned for the new center.

For more information, visit www.dsav.org. Information on the capital campaign and how to donate should be posted shortly.