Pictured, from left, are Eli Wolf, Melissa Wolf, Maddi Vanderman, and Joe Wolf. Photo provided.
Event builds community celebration of people with Down Syndrome
If you’re looking for a great opportunity to walk and raise funds for a great cause, join the annual Buddy Walk, the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati’s largest fundraising and awareness event of the year.
The mission of the DSAGC is to empower individuals, educate families, enhance communities and together, celebrate the extraordinary lives of people with Down syndrome.
The Buddy Walk will be held at Sawyer Point on Saturday, Sept. 9; the walk will start at 10 a.m.
More than 13,000 people are expected to celebrate this year’s Buddy Walk.
Information shared by the DSAGC explains that together, participants celebrate the extraordinary lives of people with Down syndrome and raise much-needed funds to provide programs, support, resources, outreach, and advocacy to the community.
The walk route is said to be filled with “entertainment, inspiration, and fun at every turn.”
The Wolf family of Milford has participated in the Buddy Walk for four years.
Parents Melissa and Joe Wolf, son Eli Wolf, and daughter Maddi Vanderman have together raised more than $5,000 through the annual fundraiser.
Eli Wolf, age 5, attends Milford Preschool.
Melissa Wolf explained that her family was inspired to join the annual event because of the association it supports.
“The DSAGC has been so supportive of our family since before Eli was born. We also love to show the world how amazing our kiddos are and the Buddy Walk is a great event to celebrate them,” Melissa Wolf said.
Melissa Wolf said that her family’s favorite part of the event is seeing all of their friends and supporters.
“It is inspiring to see thousands of people coming together to support and celebrate those with Down Syndrome,” she added.
Melissa Wolf explained that while the Buddy Walk is held in Cincinnati, the event helps build her family’s connections in Clermont County.
“The DSAGC supports 12 local counties so regardless of where the walk is their presence is much larger in our community,” she said. “The DSAGC also offers family support to many subgroups within the counties.”
Recently, the Wolf family held a donation night at the Milford Texas Roadhouse on World Down Syndrome Day; the event raised more than $200 for the Buddy Walk.
Melissa Wolf encourages anyone interested in learning more about the DSAGC mission to reach out.
“I am a volunteer for the DSAGC and lead the 2019 birth year group. We have had events at our local pool with that group,” she said. “Also in everyday interactions in the community, my love for the DSAGC is very big and I share about them as much as I can!”
Visit www.dsagc.com for more information about the DSAGC. For more information about the Buddy Walk, visit www.BuddyWalkCincy.
The community is also encouraged to celebrate the spirit of the Buddy Walk year-round by visiting DSAGC’s “Together for Down Syndrome” mural located at 209 East 12th Street.