Photo courtesy of Down Syndrome Alabama
More than 1,600 took part in the 2017 Step Up for Down Syndrome Walk at Veterans Park in Hoover, Alabama, in October 2017.
Down Syndrome Alabama, a Hoover-based nonprofit that supports people living with Down syndrome and their families, is having its annual Birmingham-area Step Up for Down Syndrome walk in Vestavia Hills this Sunday, Oct. 22.
The walk is scheduled at Wald Park from 12:30 to 4 p.m.
People are encouraged to come show support for individuals living with Down syndrome and promote their acceptance and inclusion in society. It’s also a fundraiser.
Participation in the walk costs $10 for people ages 13 and older, $5 for children ages 3-12 and free for children 2 and younger and people with Down syndrome. Walkers also are encouraged to get people to sponsor them in the walk with donations and to form teams to raise money as a group.
The theme for this year’s walk is “It’s a picnic in the park” because “stepping up for Down syndrome is as easy and as enjoyable as a picnic in the park,” the organization said in a news release.
Down Syndrome Alabama also will have on display a new piece of artwork created specifically for the organization by Carolyn Lewis, a former Vestavia Hills resident who now lives in St. Louis. It’s an “empowerment bird,” and people at the walk are invited to add their own empowerment words to the piece of art. The artwork will be auctioned online between Oct. 23 and midnight on Oct. 30 as a fundraiser for Down Syndrome Alabama.
The nonprofit has another walk scheduled in Auburn on Sunday, Oct. 20 at the Exceptional Foundation of East Alabama from 1 to 4 p.m. Walks also were held in Tuscaloosa on Oct. 1 and Montgomery on Oct. 14.
For more information about this year’s walks, go to downsyndromealabama.org/step-up-for-down-syndrome.
