About LDSS
Our family support group is for anyone touched by Down syndrome in the greater Savannah/ Lowcountry area. Created in 2006, the LDSS reaches families in the eight surrounding counties. Meetings every fourth Tuesday of the month typically feature a guest speaker as well as social time for families to interact with one another. We encourage people to bring their children. The LDSS is an affiliate of the National Down Syndrome Society.
Buddy Walk
We had our first Buddy Walk at Forsyth Park in downtown Savannah in October 2006. It was wonderfully successful, with nearly 1,600 people supporting Down syndrome awareness. Over 5,000 people attended our eleventh annual walk in 2016. Our twelfth Buddy Walk is planned for October of 2017.
Night of Champions
LDSS hosts an annual Night of Champions in May. This community event recognizes area businesses that employ differently abled adults, including those with Down syndrome, and celebrates the contributions made by these employees. For more information, please visit http://nightofchampions.org/
Camp Buddy
Camp Buddy provides physical, occupational and speech therapies for children with Down syndrome. The Camp promotes the retention of the educational accomplishments that children have made during the school year by bridging the summer months to the upcoming school year.
MISSION:
The Lowcountry Down Syndrome Society is a family support group to benefit people with Down syndrome and their families through local leadership, outreach, education and advocacy to champion and celebrate acceptance and inclusion.
The Lowcountry Down Syndrome Society envisions a world in which all people with different abilities have the opportunity to create their own path in order to enhance their quality of life, realize their life aspirations, and become valued members of welcoming communities.
Photo credit: Kathryn Hope Photography
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Buddy Walk – October 2017
Join the Lowcountry Down Syndrome Society for the 2017 Buddy Walk on October 7th, 2017. The Buddy Walk is a one mile fundraising event around historic Forsyth Park in Savannah, Georgia.
Thousands of people are expected to attend the event, which raises awareness and funds for local programs, including Camp Buddy, that benefit people with Down syndrome and their families. Last year’s LDSS Buddy Walk welcomed over 5,000 participants.
The Buddy Walk Program welcomes participants of all ages and abilities. Bring your carriage, strollers, wheelchairs, little red wagons and pets. Don’t leave anyone behind as we stroll around Forsyth Park. The goals are to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome and to positively influence local and national policy and practice. Last year alone, Buddy Walk events nationally raised more that $11.2 million to benefit education, research, and advocacy initiatives, as well as the Night of Champions, Camp Buddy and many other services right here in the Lowcountry and Coastal Empire.
The walk begins at 10:00 am. The Family Fun Festival begins immediately following the walk. The Festival will feature all kinds of activities – such as face painting, pumpkin painting, the BOO Boutique, bouncy houses, games, music and refreshments – and lasts until 2 pm. The LDSS Buddy Walk is one of more than 300 Buddy Walks taking place across the country this October to celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month.
Registration:
Visit our online registration page to sign up and make your donation on your credit card, securely using Paypal.
As an alternative to registering online, you may sign up starting at 8:30 AM day of the event, or you can download and print the Buddy Walk Registration Form (and the Donation Collection Form for non-walkers).
Registration is $15.00 per person or $50.00 for a family of four. Registration includes this years limited edition T-shirt, lunch and admission to the festival.
For more information, please call John or Candy Bogardus @ (912) 728-8505.
Come back here in the late summer of 2017 for online Buddy Walk Registration. In the meantime, please join our mailing list to receive LDSS news and information.
Join Our Mailing List
Please Make a Donation to LDSS!
Contact Information
If you have any questions or needs, please call or e-mail us.
LDSS Board Members:
Candy Bogardus, President, cbogardus@ldssga.org ; (912) 663-8573
Dr. Ben Spitalnick, Vice President
Brian Hussey, Treasurer
Traci Shreck, Secretary
Lowcountry Down Syndrome Society
322 St. John’s Road
Guyton, GA. 31312