About us

At the Alex Rivera Foundation we find innovative solutions for people with Down syndrome in the adult stage of their lives.

In the world there are 6 million people with Down syndrome whose life expectancy has gone from 25 to 60 years in just three decades.

This good news has however brought to light certain challenges: new housing and employment needs, health challenges of the caregivers themselves, premature aging, etc.

The founder Carlos Rivera, brother of Álex Rivera (37 years old, with Down syndrome) is the co-founder of www.clicars.com, one of the most successful tech startups in Spain that grew to a turnover of 500 million euros in just 6 years, creating 700 jobs.

The Alex Rivera Foundation was born with the same innovative calling and dynamism.

Our mission

For adults with Down syndrome to have the best quality of life.

Our vision

To be a global reference in the adult stage of people with Down syndrome.

Our values

Closeness to people and families.

Cooperation with other entities worldwide.

Improve people's quality of life through innovation, reducing their cost of living.

At Fundación Álex Rivera we carry out three fundamental activities:

01

We analyse the best residential solutions, listening to your needs and learning from other entities in the world.

02

We match adults with Down syndrome to entities that have housing adapted to their needs (especially shared apartments).

03

We analyse technological solutions that improve the quality of life of people with Down syndrome, while reducing their costs of living.

Who is Alex Rivera?

Alex Rivera was born 37 years ago in the United States during a short expatriation of his family.

Full of kindness, generosity and good humour, Álex has been working at an Insurance Company (Santa Lucía) for 12 years as an Administrative Officer, thanks to the support of the Aprocor Foundation. Before Santa Lucía, he worked in parking companies with his late father, and took courses at different entities.

Álex studied at the Alameda de Osuna Public Institute until Middle school (Y10), and finished Primary Education at the Ciudad de Guadalajara Public School.

He likes football, loves spending time with friends and family, and enjoys good food. He has two older brothers and lives in Madrid with his mother.

The reason for the Foundation

We are Alex’s family, and we would like to help people with Down Syndrome.

We conducted more than 125 interviews with Down Syndrome entities all over the world. These revealed that the greatest needs where in the adult stage, and this is our focus… Within the adult stage, we will address the issues of housing and employment for a life that is as autonomous as possible. We will also develop visibility initiatives to show that the world is better with people with Down Syndrome.

Luckily, today Alex is independent, happy and lives with his mother. But this will not always be the case and not all people are as lucky as Alex. We want all adults with Down syndrome to be able to live with whomever they want and however they want. We want the same for Alex if one day we pass away.