Festival organized to raise awareness about Omaha march and Down Syndrome

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) — One in every 775 babies In the United States, they are born with Down Syndrome. Thousands of people gathered at Riverside on Sunday to raise awareness about them.

2024 is the 23rd year Take Steps for the Down Syndrome Walk and Family Festival. It is hosted every year Midlands Down Syndrome Alliance.

Participation numbers at the event continue to increase. Event Coordinator Samantha Kruse said nearly 3,000 people have registered to participate in the 2024 march.

This year the event was held for the first time Heart of America Park.

“We are very excited to partner with Riverfront this year,” Kruse said. “It has been such an amazing collaboration. Moving to this location in particular has really increased the visibility of the area. “We are very excited about this partnership.”

Kruse said the event was created to raise awareness of resources in the Down Syndrome community; both locally and across the region.

In addition to dozens of stands set up by local agencies, there is also a fundraising walk. The half-mile route raises money for families directly affected by the disease.

“It’s great to have DSA here locally. I also have two older children. “I have an 11-year-old and a 7-year-old,” said Fox’s mother, Maggie Funkhouser, who has Down Syndrome and lives locally.

“It definitely helped them normalize things and realize that, yes, Fox has Down syndrome, but he’s still their brother and he’s still Fox,” Funkhouser continued. “All the individuals and families here are just like everyone else.”

Kruse said 150 volunteers worked to coordinate the event. They had a goal of raising $155,000 for the families.

“A lot of people don’t know much about down syndrome unless you know or have met someone with down syndrome,” Kruse said. “So this is a great way to spread awareness in the community and get people to be more aware.”

october Down Syndrome Awareness Month. DSA hosts a variety of events throughout the month to promote the community. you can Learn more about them here.