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RACHEL COLEMAN'S TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO THE BUDDY WALK STAGE
If you were at our Buddy Walk three years ago, we have a feeling you'll be back again this year. It was in 2010 that Rachel Coleman, the creator, producer, director and star of "Signing Time" last graced our Buddy Walk stage.
You can see the magic in the photos from that day. Everyone's eyes are on the stage - kids, teens, adults, parents. Nobody can take their eyes off Rachel. She is enthralling, not only because she is a master, Emmy-nominated performer, but also because she's a master teacher.
If you haven't seen her live before, now is your chance. Join the celebration!
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Sunday, October 13
Lake Quannapowitt - Wakefield, MA
*Pre-registration closes Thursday at midnight. You must pre-register to be guaranteed a T-shirt.
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Rachel's Story
In December of 1996, Rachel Coleman and her husband,
Aaron, welcomed their first daughter, Leah, into the world. When she was fourteen months old, they discovered that Leah was profoundly deaf. Their world turned upside down.
Rachel put down her guitar and picked up sign language. She and her husband immediately started teaching Leah American Sign Language (ASL) as fast as they could learn it.
Something remarkable happened: by the time Leah was 18 months old, her baby sign language vocabulary far surpassed the spoken vocabulary of "hearing" children her same age.
A few years later, Rachel and Aaron's second daughter, Lucy, was born eight weeks premature with spina bifida and cerebral palsy. Doctors worried that Lucy would never be able to speak, let alone use her rigid fingers to sign with her deaf sister.
Somewhere in the midst of all of this, Rachel and her sister Emilie decided to team up to create a captivating, entertaining video to teach sign language to children who were not deaf. And thus, Signing Time! was born.
Coleman quickly realized that people with Down syndrome were a core audience. She has responded with special videos for people with Down syndrome and has performed at countless Buddy Walks around the country.
In 2008, Coleman was nominated for the "Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series" for the 35th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmys.
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Having trouble registering?
Call us at 781-221-0024 or buddywalk@mdsc.org. Ask for Elaine Crowley
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Sunday, October 13
Lake Quannapowitt - Wakefield, MA
*Pre-registration closes Thursday at midnight. You must pre-register to be guaranteed a T-shirt.
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WHAT MAKES A SUPERHERO?
ALY RAISMAN & OTHER CELEBRITIES KNOW
We are thrilled to have the support this Down Syndrome Awareness Month of 5 celebrities who are helping us take our message of acceptance and inclusion to the broader public.
"Captain America" Star Chris Evans, Olympic Gymnast Aly Raisman, America's Top Chef Contestant Tiffani Faison, "Turbo" Director David Soren, and Country Singer Ayla Brown are our official 2013 Buddy Walk Ambassadors.
Four of them have been able to record brief Public Service Announcements for us that we have disseminated through YouTube and Facebook. (Chris Evans' attempts have been thwarted by his incredibly busy filming schedule.)
They say it all in their videos, which you can see below: "People may think we have superpowers to do what we do. But we want to tell you about some real-life superheroes. There are 250,000 individuals living with Down syndrome in the US today and 5,000 in Massachusetts. While Down syndrome is part of who these people are, it doesn't define them, and it doesn't make them any less valuable. They really are just like you and me."
Thank you Chris, Aly, Tiffani, David and Ayla for helping us celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month and spread our message of empowerment well beyond the 4,000 people who will be at the event next Sunday.
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17th Annual Buddy Walk & Family Festival
A THREE-MILE WALK THAT'S SO MUCH MORE
For thousands of people, the MDSC's 17th Annual Buddy Walk & Family Picnic is all about celebrating their loved ones with Down syndrome and connecting with new and old friends.
But it's also so much more!
Each step around the beautiful 3-mile route at Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield provides critical funds, which allow the MDSC to provide a wide range of support to those directly affected by Down syndrome and advocate for Down syndrome issues on the local and national level. We support new and expectant families, educate health care professionals about Down syndrome and how to deliver a diagnosis, provide social and leadership development for teens and young adults with Down syndrome, equip educators with best practices and resources, and create and influence legislation affecting people with Down syndrome.
Our programs include our signature Parent's First Call, a volunteer, state-wide group of trained parent mentors available 24/7 that is a national model; two major Annual Conferences that draw national and international experts in their fields; and Self-Advocate Programs like Advocates in Motion and our Self-Advocate Advisory Council, which provide opportunities for teens and adults with Down syndrome while making empowerment a central component.
October is National Down Syndrome Awareness, so there's no better time to promote acceptance and inclusion for the Down syndrome community than at our 17th Annual Buddy Walk & Family Festival. Join the excitement and the celebration.
REGISTER NOW!
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