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DOWN SYNDROME: GF mayor leads walk
By: Elisa L. Rineheart
Source: Grand Forks Herald
10/10/2005

Grand Forks Mayor Mike Brown led a 1-mile walk Sunday around the Grand Cities Mall to raise awareness about Down syndrome as part of National Down Syndrome Awareness Month.

The Arc Upper Valley's fourth annual Buddy Walk in the Grand Forks shopping center attracted about 200 people, including participants and supporters.

The event was designed to promote acceptance and full community inclusion of people with Down syndrome, and help raise funds for education, research and treatment, said Pam Solga, a spokesperson for the Arc.

Down syndrome, the most frequently occurring chromosomal abnormality, is a genetic condition that affects one in about 1,000 newborns. Instead of the usual 46 chromosomes, a person with Down syndrome has 47.

Second year leading

This was Brown's second consecutive year leading the walk. He said he was hoping to raise enough money to provide adequate training to Down syndrome families in Grand Forks and surrounding areas.

"This Buddy Walks are important because they show you that we are all special people. We all have special needs and special wants, and we all just want to be included," Brown said.

The money collected last year was used to send two families from Grand Forks and East Grand Forks to the North Dakota Family Conference in Fargo and to the National Down Syndrome Congress Convention in Anaheim, Calif., he said.

Sixth-grader helps lead

Brown led the walk alongside Charley Baumer, 11, a sixth-grader at Central Middle School in East Grand Forks.

Baumer has a rare form of Down syndrome called mosaic Down syndrome.

"Charley was a great leader. He had a lot of enthusiasm for the walk," Brown said. "He gave me a great feeling today."

Charley's mother, Brenda Baumer, of East Grand Forks said his disability hasn't stopped him from becoming an academically, socially and physically active child.

"He's just like any other kid," she said. "He participates in each one of his classes ... He prepares his own meals. He doesn't talk a lot, so a lot of people don't know he has a lot of skills, but he likes to be included."

Inclusion is key

Brown said that inclusion in mainstream society has allowed people with disabilities to accomplish things that were considered impossible in the past.

As Charley prepared to dance with his brother's girlfriend in the commons of the Grand Cities Mall where Mischief was playing live, youth volunteers from Grand Forks Air Force Base painted children's faces, and balloon artists made all sorts of animals for the children.

The event was made possible in part by contributions of local businesses that donated door prizes and gifts.

Seventy percent of the money raised by Buddy Walk is used to fund workshops, advocacy programs, raise awareness and provide support services for children and adults with Down syndrome and their families. The remaining 30 percent is donated to the National Down Syndrome Society for research and treatment, Solga said.

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