A young participant has fun at last year's Buddy Walk. Gargoyle photos by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Student Services Office secretary Ellen Lindsey and her son, Joey Lindsey, enjoy last year's festivities.

URBANA — This Saturday the Champaign County Down Syndrome Network will host its fourth annual Buddy Walk, a one-mile walk to raise money for the group at the Champaign County Fairgrounds.

The network is a nonprofit organization that provides support for families of those with Down syndrome and tries to raise awareness of the genetic disorder around the community.

Student Services Office secretary/school registrar Ellen Lindsey and her son, Joey, will be among the participants. The Uni club Students for a Better World will volunteer at the event.

Registration will be begin at 9:30 a.m. From then until the walk officially starts at noon, there will be a series of live performances and speeches.

After the walk, there will be a performance by a magician, raffle drawings, and the event will wrap up with a dance party from 2 to 3 p.m.

Lindsey is especially supportive of the walk. Not only is she the secretary for the Champaign County DSN, but her 4-year-old son Joey has Down syndrome and has participated in the walk for the past two years.

His team, called "Joey's Jesters," raised almost $1,200 last year, and this year their goal is to raise $600, much of which will probably come from those who have come to know of the Lindsey family through Uni.

"I am proud to be a part of this Uni community and have the support from everyone one," Lindsey says. "We do so much 'fundraising' for other things that are just as important, it was nice to see that Down syndrome is important to people, too."

This year, the Buddy Walk's special guest is Karen Gaffney, a 30-year-old from Portland, Ore. Gaffney runs her own nonprofit, The Karen Gaffney Foundation, and speaks around the country advocating the abilities of people like herself with Down syndrome.

According to an e-mail from Lindsey: "[Gaffney] believes that she can help raise expectations of the capabilities that fellow students with Down syndrome or other disabilities have to contribute to the world around them, and to be a friend to others.

"Swimming since she was 9 months old, she has competed in the Donner Lake Swim and the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon. She's even crossed the English Channel on a relay team. She has recently completed a nine-mile swim across Lake Tahoe helping to raise money for the nonprofit National Down Syndrome Congress."

You can register the day of the walk, or you can register now on the Champaign County DSN Web site. You can also make a donation in Joey's name online.

Even if you can't make it to the Buddy Walk, you can show your support for those with disabilities in other ways.

"If everyone just shows respect for everyone else we will have a better society where everyone no matter what their differences are will fit in," says Lindsey. "Next time you see someone with a disability having trouble with something, ask if you can assist. They might say, 'No, thank you," but you have tried, and that makes you feel good."

Schedule of Events

• 9:30-11:30 a.m. — Registration & carnival games
• 10-11:30 a.m. — Live performances
• 11:30-11:45 a.m. — Karen Gaffney speaks
• 11:45 a.m.-noon — Line up for walk route
• noon-12:30 p.m. — Begin walk
• 12:45-1:30 p.m. — Magician performance
• 1:30-1:50 p.m. — Raffle drawings
• 2-3 p.m. — DJ/dance party