Come join us at the Buddy Walk!
October was National Down Syndrome Awareness Month (Don’t feel bad if you didn’t know. I had no clue until our son was born!) and to celebrate the National Down Syndrome Society created a yearly, multi city event that takes place over several months known as The Buddy Walk.
You can read more about The Buddy Walk on their website, but in a nutshell;
“The Buddy Walk was created to celebrate National Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October, and to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome…last year alone 285,000 people participated in a Buddy Walk, and raised more than $11.2 million to benefit local programs as well as the national advocate initiatives that benefit all individuals with Down syndrome. It is an inspirational and educational event that celebrates the many abilities and accomplishments of people with Down syndrome. Whether you have Down syndrome, know someone who does, or just want to show your support, come and join a Buddy Walk in your local community!”
Doesn’t that sound awesome, and something that an amazing person like you would want to be a part of?
I thought so! Let me tell you how.
3 Ways You Can Be A Part Of The Buddy Walk
1. Come to the Buddy Walk.
Come on out! Seriously. Join our team! The Buddy Walk is this coming Sunday (November 13, 2011) from 11-1 pm at Flag Pole Hill around White Rock Lake. We would love for you to come and be a part of the walk. It doesn’t matter if we’ve never, only metonline, or if we’re long time friends….if there’s anyway possible you can join us, please do! Be sure to leave a comment, or send me a message if you plan on coming so I can be on the look out!
2. Give a small (or large) donation.
Don't be afraid to turn that pig's smile upside down and donate.
(You can donate here.) It seems like everyone is asking for a small donation these days, but this is the first time you’ve ever heard me ask you for one. 🙂 As I mentioned above The Buddy Walk is the “premier advocacy event for The National Down Syndrome Society…with one of its purposes to raise funds for local programs and services as well as national advocacy initiatives.” Let me just say from personal experience that any money you choose to donate will be used for good. When Noah was born Abbie and I received more information, support, and resources from our local Down syndrome guild than we did from the hospital or the doctor who delivered our son. They helped make a scary and confusing time in our life much easier. We are very grateful to them, and if it wasn’t for donations given by people like you, it’s likely that support would not have been available to us.
I want to stress that any donation you make is important. It doesn’t matter if it’s 5 dollars or 50, any amount you can give will go a long way! (By the way, we are very close to meeting (and beating) or rather small goal of 750 dollars. It’d be awesome if you’d help us fill in the gap, but it’d be even more awesomer if you’d help us to go over and above our goal!)
Will you help us go above and beyond our goal?
3. Pray.
There is nothing more powerful in all the universe that a human being can do than pray. Prayer changes things. Rather you believe that or not, it does. Regardless if you join our team and come out to The Buddy Walk, or give a donation (or both!) I’d like to ask you to please pray for the National Down Syndrome Society and the work they are doing to advocate for people born with Down syndrome. In addition, pray that our nation could see the horrible statistic that 9 out of 10 children known to have Down syndrome in the womb are aborted, change. Pray for the families that are receiving a Down syndrome diagnosis every day, and that they would choose life. Every time. Finally, pray that the world would come to see people born with Down syndrome (like our son) as fully human, and equally deserving of all the rights that are due to every human being.
Thanks for taking the time to read through this, and I hope you will team up with us to help raise awareness for Down syndrome by coming to the walk, giving a donation, or praying (or all of the above. 🙂
Have you ever been involved in a Buddy Walk before? If so please leave a comment telling others about your experience.
About Rick Smith
We participate in the Nashville/Davidson County Buddy Walk every year, both as volunteers and as walkers. It is the greatest time! If you have a child with Down, there is no greater experience in the world than looking around the group of 3,000 people who showed up for our Buddy Walk and seeing all those beautiful faces with Down and all those proud family and friends who showed up to support them! It’s awesome! This year we had two teams who showed up with 94 walkers each! Each team creates their own t-shirts to display the name and face of the person with Down they are representing. It is a very moving spectacle!
Do yourself a favor and don’t miss this! We had a live band, face and pumpkin painting, food concessions, bouncy houses, information booths for many local agencies that serve this population, prizes, giveaways, etc. A beautiful day and happy families – what could be better?
Go to Buddy Walk. Sponsor someone who is walking. Volunteer. You will receive far more than you give, believe me. We are so proud of our local Down Syndrome Association and the many things they do, but this one event is the best one all year, and we look forward to it every year!
I have been lucky enough to be involved with several Buddy Walks over the years starting in High School. I can tell you first hand it is an amazing experience for Participants, Chaperones, Workers and Passers-by. Just seeing this diverse group of walkers coming together to celebrate life, hope and awareness is particularly moving. If you have the opportunity to get involved in your local Walk I encourage you to do so. Spread the word that Down Syndrome is ok, natural and simply a chance to see the world through a different beautiful lens. 🙂
My husband (Nigel), daughter (Emily) and myself participated in the first Buddy Walk in Trinidad and Tobago last year and it was great. Looking forward to it this year as we will be doing it in memory of our daughter, Chloe who had Down Syndrome and passed away last year 15 August 2012, two days after her first birthday.