Fraternity holds Buddy Walk

by Jelissa Neal from the East Tennessean:Many student organizations are starting the year off right, giving back to the community and raising money for a great cause. One organization in particular is Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE).The SAE Fraternity held their annual Buddy Walk on Sept. 7.The Buddy Walk is an event that teams up with the local organization FRIENDS (Friends Reaching, Inspiring, and Educating Neighbors about Down Syndrome), a Johnson City affiliate with the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) and SAE’s local philanthropy. The NDSS was also a sponsor of this event.The Buddy Walk raises money by allowing people to pledge per lap the number of laps that a team walks. It was created by NDSS in 1995 to celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October.

For families, time to come together at Buddy Walk

by Danielle E. Gaines from the Frederick News-Post: 
For the Jones family, Saturday's Buddy Walk was a family reunion in more than one way.
“We come back every year. We've seen the same friends each year. We've seen the kids grow from young children into teenagers,” said Wallace Jones, of North Wales, Pa.
His has been meeting at the walk for the last 11 years, starting with the birth of his daughter, Hailey, who has Down syndrome.
On Saturday, Wallace gathered with his wife, Tina, all three of their children, his parents from New Castle, Del., and his sister Waynet Jones, who lives in Frederick.
“We all come together here,” said Waynet Jones, who is a board member of F.R.I.E.N.D.S., the locally based Down syndrome advocacy group that has organized the walk for the last 12 years.

National Down syndrome advocates press for independent inquiry into Md. man’s custody death

from the Washington Post by the Associated Press:
National advocates for people with Down syndrome said Tuesday they are pressing for an independent investigation into the death of a man who suffocated while three security officers were trying to forcibly remove him from a movie theater.
The National Down Syndrome Congress and the National Down Syndrome Society said they have met twice with U.S. Justice Department officials about the Jan. 12 death of Robert Ethan Saylor, 26, of New Market. Saylor had Down syndrome.
Officials from the agency’s criminal and civil-rights divisions said on Monday that they need more information before deciding how to proceed, the advocacy groups said.
The executive director of the National Down Syndrome Congress said the officers caused Saylor’s death.
“Ethan did not die because he had Down syndrome. Ethan died because he was improperly restrained by three police officers,” said David Tolleson.

NDSS, NDSC and other advocates meet with US DOJ re: Robert Ethan Saylor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Julie Cevallos                           
National Down Syndrome Society                       
212-763-4361/jcevallos@ndss.org 

National Down Syndrome Society Meets with the U.S. Department of Justice and other Representatives of the Down Syndrome Community

Meeting focused on the need for national law enforcement and first responder training guidelines, to be implemented nationwide, regarding individuals who have Down syndrome.

Washington, DC – March 27, 2013. The National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) attended a meeting yesterday with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), along with National Down Syndrome Congress (NDSC), the Kennedy Krieger Down Syndrome Clinic Director Dr. George Capone, representatives from our Frederick County, Maryland affiliate, Family Resource Information and Education Network for Down Syndrome (F.R.I.E.N.D.S.), and representatives of the Saylor Family. With the Robert Ethan Saylor case high on their watch list, the Community Relations Service (CRS) of the U.S. Department of Justice initially reached out to F.R.I.E.N.D.S. to offer their services, which resulted in yesterday’s meeting. Robert Ethan Saylor died in Frederick County, Maryland on January 12, 2013.

NDSS is determined to see to it that necessary actions are implemented to ensure tragedies like this never happen again. “Our hearts and sympathies go out to the family and friends of Robert Ethan Saylor.  At NDSS, we envision a world in which all people with Down syndrome have the opportunity to enhance their quality of life, realize their life aspirations, and become valued members of welcoming communities. Ethan deserved to be a welcomed member of his community. We join the rest of the Down syndrome community in their sadness and outrage as we act for positive change,” says NDSS Vice President of Advocacy & Affiliate Relations Sara Weir. 

Yesterday, the discussion centered around the need for national law enforcement and first responder training guidelines regarding individuals with Down syndrome to prevent another tragedy of this nature happening again in the future, in any town in the United States.