Over the last twelve years, the Buddy Walk has become the premier advocacy event for Down syndrome and has become a major platform for inclusion in communities across the country.

Here are some milestones to show how the program has grown:

1995

• The National Down Syndrome Society establishes the Buddy Walk to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome and to celebrate October, National Down Syndrome Awareness Month.
• Buddy Walks take place in 17 locations across the United States. Chris Burke leads the flagship New York City Buddy Walk. The premiere advocacy event for Down syndrome is off to a great start!

• The National Down Syndrome Society introduces the Times Square Video to raise acceptance and inclusion of individuals with Down syndrome.
• The Buddy Walk adds a fundraising component to raise money for local and national programs and services.

• NDSS introduces a new Buddy Walk logo, the familiar blue and yellow graphic with a family holding hands.
• The Wal-Mart commercial featuring footage of the walk in Colorado Springs, CO first airs and is instrumental in the growth of the Buddy Walk program.
• Over 100 Buddy Walks take place during this year.

• John C. McGinley joins NDSS as the National Buddy Walk Spokesman, providing significant national visibility for the program.
• The first BuddyWalk.org site is launched.
• The first comprehensive Buddy Walk Manual for walk organizers is distributed.

• NDSS further demonstrates its support for the growing Buddy Walk program by designating it as one of the Society’s five key strategic initiatives for the coming years and hiring a National Buddy Walk Coordinator to oversee the direction of the program and assist local organizers.
• The Buddy Walk logo is trademarked by NDSS.
• More than 190 Buddy Walks take place in 49 states and 5 countries with over 180,000 participants.
• More than $2.5 million is raised for national education, research and advocacy programs, as well as local programs and services.

• BuddyWalk.org is re-launched with new tools and features for Walkers and organizers.
• More than 214 Buddy Walks took place (at least one in each state), involving more than 200,000 people and raising more than $4.5 million for local and national education, research and advocacy programs.

• NDSS celebrates 10 years of the Buddy Walk!
• More than 260 Walks were held in 2005 across the country and abroad.
• Approximately 5.5 Million dollars were raised nation-wide through the NDSS Buddy Walk. These funds were distributed among sponsoring Buddy Walk Organizations and the National Down Syndrome Society.
• More than 225,000 individuals participated in a Buddy Walk in 2005. Since the Buddy Walk was created in 1995, over 1,500,000 people have participated in a Buddy Walk worldwide.