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Son inspires 'Buddy Walk'
By: Wendy Victora
Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach
05/09/2006

May 9--This is what Theresa Jelsma would like people to know about her 15-year-old son, Sean Gacioch, who has Down syndrome.

He notices when you stare.

The smiling teenager would rather you'd say "hi" or offer a highfive. And if you're behind the counter of a local fast-food restaurant, please be patient and let him order his own food.

"Two cheeseburgers, hot fries, no pickles, root beer," he'd tell you.

But the Fort Walton Beach mother knows that's a lot for people to figure out at once.

For now, she and other parents of Down syndrome individuals just want you to clean out your closets and help them raise money for a May 13 yard sale.

They'll even pick up the donations at your house.

And then, they hope you will mark Oct. 21 on your calendar for the first Shooting Stars Buddy Walk at the Fort Walton Landing.

The Buddy Walk was developed by the National Down Syndrome Society in 1995 to promote awareness and inclusion for people with Down syndrome, and to raise money for research and education.

Sean's family attended one every year while they lived in Utah. But when his airman stepfather, Brian Jelsma, transferred to Eglin Air Force Base, they discovered the nearest Buddy Walk was a much smaller event in Fairhope, Ala.

"I said, 'We should start our own Buddy Walk. We could do it together,' " Brian recalls. "And (my wife) picked up the ball and ran with it."

"It sort of snowballed," she said. The two are the coordinators of this year's walk. Their garage and two donated storage units are already filled with yard sale items. The Jelsmas and other families meet monthly. There's a lot of work still ahead of them.

The group's goal is to raise $20,000 this year for education, research and advocacy initiatives, as well as local programs.

Some of the proceeds will also go to programs at Silver Sands School and to help pay for local children to go to Alabama's Special Camp for Children and Adults.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach

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