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Georgia Boy Is 2018 Gerber Spokesbaby, First With Down Syndrome

February 7th, 2018

One-year-old Lucas Warren of Dalton, Georgia, is the new Gerber spokesbaby. Lucas’ parents said they hope this will help increase the acceptance of special-needs children.

Courtesy Warren family/Gerber via AP

Meet Lucas Warren, a 1-year-old from Dalton, Georgia, who has become the first Gerber spokesbaby with Down syndrome.

His photo was chosen from among more than 140,000 entries to become the 2018 Gerber spokesbaby. His mom, Courtney Warren, said she entered the contest after a relative pointed out an ad asking for submissions, according to TODAY. She submitted a photo of her son using the contest’s hashtag, and the rest is history.

Absolute favorite story of the day. First Gerber Baby with Down Syndrome. Amazing. Congrats Baby Lucas! pic.twitter.com/QPraDclQas

— David Wade (@davidwade) February 7, 2018

TODAY announced the news Wednesday morning.

“I hope it shines light to the special-needs community showing that they are just like you and me, they should be accepted,” Courtney told TODAY. “It’s not based on their looks, but based on who they are.”

“We’re hoping this will impact everyone — that it will shed a little bit of light on the special-needs community and help more individuals with special needs be accepted and not limited,” dad Jason Warren told TODAY. “They have the potential to change the world, just like everybody else.”

The show also reported that Lucas would be featured on Gerber’s social media and that he would be awarded $50,000. His parents said the money would be used for his college tuition.