LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- For Racing Louisville FC captain Jaelin Howell, Down Syndrome of Louisville hits close to her heart.

The star midfielder's family has a close friend with the condition. It is a part of the reason she formed a partnership with the local organization and created events like a Saturday night dance at St. Leonard Parish.

"For me, this is huge," Howell said. "For my teammates to come out and show their support with us is huge. And I think it's a fun opportunity for people with Down Syndrome to come have fun and experience hanging out with Racing players and staff."

More than 200 people, including players and coaches from the club, were in attendance to enjoy the night. According to Howell, donations were made for the event to have a 360-degree photo booth, face painting, snacks, a DJ and much more to bring smiles to individuals with intellectual disabilities of all ages.

"It makes you just overwhelmed with with joy," Howell said of seeing those individuals enjoying themselves. "And that's what you want. You want them to have fun and you want them to remember this for the rest of their lives. That's what we're hoping.

"And we're hoping that this impacts them in ways that we don't even know, for them to have a smile on their face and out dancing with with the players and the staff. We're hoping that the staff and the players, it impacts them as well. And we're hoping that this brings awareness to DSL (Down Syndrome of Louisville), people with Down Syndrome, people with disabilities and just the whole community."

The 23-year-old also has a September soccer clinic planned for Down Syndrome of Louisville members. Her overall collaboration with the organization started earlier this year.

"We're hoping that this relationship just continues to grow and that this is just the beginning," Howell said. "We don't want this to be just one dance or one camp. We want it to be an every year type thing. And we're hoping that it promotes DSL. We're hoping it promotes other organizations and hopefully that Racing can help."

For Howell, who is having a standout second NWSL season on the field for a rising Racing Louisville squad, the event showed what she has noticed about Louisville off of the field.

"It just shows how the community of Louisville really just shows up for each other," Howell said. "That's what I've seen over and over the past couple years I've been here.

"Everything you see in there has been donated and just shows how much Louisville cares. It just shows that Louisville is super tight knit and it's awesome to see. I'm so blessed to be able to be a part of a community like that and we're just hoping to contribute to that."

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