Menifee Down Syndrome Buddy Walk is an Event for Everyone

Riley Degen, age 3, rides in a wagon with her family's team, "Riley's Rebels," during last year's Buddy Walk.

A Buddy Walk to promote Down Syndrome awareness will be held Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Mount San Jacinto College in Menifee.

Before the walk, there will be a 10-kilometer run at 8 a.m. and a five-kilometer run at 8:30 a.m. Registration begins at 6:30 a.m. The Buddy Walk will begin around noon and take place within the school parking lots.

During the event, vendors will provide information about different resources and therapies available to families with special needs children. Along with food, games and entertainment, there will also be a mechanical bull, an obstacle course, a train, a petting zoo, and a pumpkin patch.

This is the second year the Buddy Walk will take place at MSJC, where an estimated 800 people are expected to participate.

“This event is for everybody,” said Adele Cox, president of the Down Syndrome Association of the Inland Empire. “The whole point of it is to learn about Down Syndrome.”

Cox, whose 10-year-old daughter has special needs, wanted to have a local Buddy Walk for families in the surrounding areas. She and other volunteers have made this event possible since 2006.

Funds earned from the event will be used for other association events and be donated to the National Down Syndrome Society and the National Down Syndrome Congress to help promote the rights of special needs people.For more information about this event, the association, or how to make a donation, visit www.dsaie.org or call 951-852-1054.