Zumbathon For Down Syndrome

by Brittany Falkers from WDIO.com ABC:
The 12th annual Step Up For Down Syndrome Walk in Duluth is coming up on Sunday, September 29.  But one Northland family is doing a little extra fundraising ahead of the big walk.
Alycen Maciejeski and her fiance Josh Gerding say their 10-year-old son Joshua was blessed with an extra chromosome.  Alycen says he's a healthy and very active kid. This year he's in the 4th grade at Bryant Elementary in Superior.
The family has been active in the Duluth Step Up for Down Syndrome Walk for the last six years.  Every year they get as many people as they can together before the main event to donate to the cause they say is very close to their heart.
This year they're raising money with a Zumbathon.  It's a chance to raise some extra money and support kids like Joshua.  Alycen says it's also an opportunity to raise awareness.  "They are people too.  Smart people, very capable of learning, just like me and you," Alycen said.
Join them Sunday, September 22 from 2 until 4 p.m. at Clyde Iron Works. It's just $10 for the two hours of high energy exercise fun.
All of the money raised will be donated under Joshua's name to the Down Syndrome Association of Minnesota at the walk, which is coming up at the end of the month.

Zumbathon a day of fun for great cause

Written by Jon Bleiweis from the Beachcomber on Delmarva Now.com:
When Jessica DuBois found out 10 months ago that her newborn daughter, Glee, had Down Syndrome, she was in shock.
“For nine months, you go thinking you’re going to have a perfect, beautiful baby girl,” she said. “I hadn’t gotten to hold her when I was told.”
But since then, she said her eyes have been open to a whole new world — a new way of thinking, a new way of love and acceptance, and a new way of advocacy.
When she first would bring up Down Syndrome among family and friends, she said, she would only hear negative things. But DuBois, 26, has turned them all into positives, to the point where she tells loved ones not to be sorry and that it’s not a bad thing.
According to Down Syndrome Association of Delaware, one in every 691 babies in the nation is born with the condition, which gives an individual a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21, which alters the course of one’s development. There are more than 400,000 people in the country living with Down Syndrome.
While there is no cure for the condition, DuBois and fellow members of the Down Syndrome community want the public to be more accepting.
“We want people to know that these children are more alike than different,” she said. “They’ll accomplish anything any other child would, just on their own time. They’re still full of joy and full of life.”
As a way to help spread awareness of Down Syndrome, DuBois and her cousin, Robin Wright, a local Zumba instructor, will host a Zumbathon fundraiser at the Sussex County YMCA, which will take place Sunday, May 5. Wright will be one of eight local Zumba instructors who are expected to participate in the event.
DuBois said she hopes it will become an annual event to help spread the word about the disorder, and so far, it has been well-received by local businesses.
Door prizes, raffles and a silent auction will take place, as well as two hours of nonstop high energy dancing.
In addition to teaching Zumba classes, Wright works at Lotus Blossom Learning Center in Lewes, where two of her daycare children have Down Syndrome.
“We know now that therapy and intervention is most important for these kids to strive and go mainstream and be in normal classes,” she said.
“We need to get the word out.”
While the event will be free, donations will be accepted at the door. All proceeds will go toward The Bumble Glee Hive, Glee’s team for the 10th annual DSA Buddy Walk.
DuBois and her daughter have taken part in two buddy walks already, and they’re eagerly anticipating the Delaware walk May 19 in Newark.
The walks have been a boon of support for DuBois and Glee.
Each time, they’ve had more than 25 supporters join them, including family members from Philadelphia that DuBois hadn’t seen in years.
“Glee knows more people now,” she said. “Everyone knows Glee. She’s a total celebrity. It’s a great feeling to know that family and friends support you.”