Down syndrome Buddy Walk coming to Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — The Down Syndrome Society of Grant County will be holding its sixth annual “Buddy Walk” this Saturday, Sept. 29, at McCosh Park.

But Saturday won’t be the only day the local Down syndrome group will be holding an event this year.

Featured keynote speaker Sara Jo Soldovieri, manager of inclusive education programming for the National Down Syndrome Society in Washington, D.C., will also lead a special workshop at the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center on Friday beginning at 7 p.m.

“We’re really excited to have her for our Buddy Walk,” said Kerry Aronsohn, president of the Down Syndrome Society of Grant County (DSSGC).

“She’s an educator herself and helped move over 100 Down syndrome students from segregated classrooms to inclusive ones,” Aronsohn said. “She offers support to schools who want to create more inclusive education.”

The workshop is open to the public, Aronsohn said, but it is designed for educators and parents of children with disabilities.

The Buddy Walk was started six years ago as a senior project, Aronsohn said, and modeled after the buddy walks done across the country and begun by the National Down Syndrome Society in 1995.

“It’s to learn how we can be advocates and make a difference in the life of a disabled child,” she said. “To show support and be a buddy.”

The Buddy Walk will begin at 4 p.m. Saturday in McCosh Park, with registration starting at 3:30 p.m. followed by music and games. After the keynote address, walkers will then walk roughly a mile from the park through downtown Moses Lake and then back to the park again for pizza.

“People with Down syndrome are amazing people, and they have a lot to contribute to the community,” Aronsohn said. “The Buddy Walk has really helped.”

For more information, check out the Grant County Down Syndrome Society’s website at www.dssgc.org, or email Aronsohn at cbbuddywalk@gmail.com.