2009 Down Syndrome Association of Northern Virginia Buddy Walk

My Family Page

Welcome to the Northern Virginia Buddy Walk Page of
Katie and her coolest Kats!

Thank you for your involvement!

Enter Donation Amount Here: *Currency shown: US Dollar $

	My Fundraising Goal: $8,000.00
	Money Raised to Date: $5,640.00



	If you are unable to donate online, please print out a donation form.

Support Team KatieKat!

On October 17th Team KatieKat is walking in the Northern Virginia Buddy Walk to show our support for the more than 350,000 individuals with Down syndrome in the United States, including our very own Katie.

Since Katie’s birth in October 2007 and subsequent diagnosis, our family has benefited time and time again from those who came before Katie and blazed a trail. The Down Syndrome Association of Northern Virginia (DSANV) was there to answer our first phone call and point us in the right direction. DSANV has created a community of families who are only an email away when we need to know who the favorite pediatric physical therapist or infant phlebotomist is. They host social gatherings where we can get to know one another in person and organize many workshops that allow us to focus our precious little time on what matters for our children.

We are *incredibly* thankful to those who came before Katie and put in place a community of support, medical knowledge to leverage, and an education system open to all children. Our job now is to pay it forward. By supporting Team KatieKat, we will make this world a better place not only for her, but for those who follow. We really will. For starters, together with three other parent volunteers, our family has worked through DSANV to kick off “The Learning Program” pilot in Northern Virginia. Based on 30 years of evidence-based research on education for individuals with Down syndrome, The Learning Program brings the fruits of research into practice by guiding parents to become effective first-teachers for their children. This program was started in 2005 in Orange County, California, and we are now the fifth organization to kick off our own implementation. But we need funding to expand to a full program; to include a wider range of ages, to move from parent volunteer instructors to paid professionals, to include child instruction. We can do this, but we need your help to make it happen. Support Team KatieKat, or any of the other Buddy Walk teams!

But most of all, please help to make our Northern Virginia community as well as your own local community a place where Katie and her many friends will thrive. Help us all blaze the trail!

p.s. Walk on, Miss Katie! She's WALKING just in time for this year's event!

For Katie's Buddy Walk web page and video, click here:
http://web.me.com/eightblueberryeyes/Eight_Blueberry_Eyes/BuddyWalk09.html

Thank you for your involvement!