2011 TVDSA Buddy Walk – Our Very Own PSA

The Buddy Walk is a great opportunity each October for those of us who love someone with Down syndrome to share our feelings with everyone we know! Yes, the walk is the biggest fundraiser of the year for TVDSA, but it’s also a vehicle for creating community awareness. And, if you have ever been to the Buddy Walk before, you know it’s a CELEBRATION! The atmosphere is fun, energetic, and joyous, and that’s because we’re so excited to tell the community what these individuals with Down syndrome mean to us. It’s a celebration of them!

This year, we were lucky enough to create our own Public Service Announcement for the Buddy Walk with local kids and teens. Five siblings of individuals with Down syndrome volunteered to help us spread the word that their brother or sister with Down syndrome is not defined by their disablility. And what’s even more exciting is this video is a prelude to a longer video where each of these young people will help us spread a message of acceptance and speak out against the r-word. Watch for that in the coming weeks!

A big thanks to all those who helped us create this video by starring it in: Therese and Liam Murphy; Gabriela and Mikaela Olmos; Randy, Tess and Isabelle Scott; Tegan and Madison Maestretti, and Austin Schaffer and Aaden Vranish. And a big thanks to our amazing videographer who volunteered his time to create this for us, Zach Johnson.

It’s not too late to register for the Buddy Walk! We hope you’ll join us in our celebration this year on October 8th.

Sara Mitton Cox
2011 Buddy Walk Co-chair