My First Event

I've made a decision! Our family is going to participate in our first event for our local Down syndrome awareness group ~ hooray!! It's the Buddy Walk, a fabulous opportunity to raise awareness and money for education, research and advocacy...

I'm nervous as anything as I always have a hard time dealing with meeting new people, but I'm also excited. I'm tired of not knowing any other individuals with Down syndrome (personally, that is...I've "met" lots of great people online) and I want a glimpse of what our future may hold. I think I'm ready for this (emotionally), but even if I'm not, this is the path we're taking because it will be the right thing for us as a family and a community!

I feel like I should share more about the event, aside from my feelings on the matter, so here's some info from their brochure:

The Buddy Walk® was developed by the National Down Syndrome Society in 1995 to bring together a wide range of concerned individuals to reach out to friends, family and co-workers to promote awareness and inclusion for people with Down syndrome and to raise funds for education, research and advocacy programs.

The Buddy Walk is a one-mile walk in which anyone can participate without special training. The Walk has grown from 17 Walks in 1995 to 252 nationwide and around the world in 2010. Hundreds of thousands of people walk from coast to coast and abroad each year. The goal of the Buddy Walk is to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome. In 2011, our goal is to have nearly 300 Buddy Walks across the country and abroad.

More than 252 Walks were held worldwide in 2010. For a list of where registered walks were held, please visit www.buddywalk.org and click on the “2010 Walks” link, located under “Find A Walk”.
Approximately $11,200,000 was raised nation-wide through the NDSS Buddy Walk. These funds were distributed among sponsoring Buddy Walk Organizations and the National Down Syndrome Society.
More than 285,000 individuals participated in a Buddy Walk in 2010. Since the Buddy Walk was created in 1995, more than 3,000,000 people have participated in a Buddy Walk worldwide.

The Buddy Walk is a trademarked program of the National Down Syndrome Society and was created in 1995 to assist local groups in their advocacy efforts in their communities. With nearly 300 Walks taking place each year, the National Down Syndrome Society is able to speak with a unified and stronger voice on issues of policy that affect individuals with Down syndrome.

Now to start fundraising...
Visit Our Buddy Walk Support Page  and use the widget at the bottom of the page to donate to the cause and support our team!!