August 15th thru September 25th Education Fair Each family can request 1 educational item for their child with Down syndrome with a limit of $35. Your child’s teacher or therapist can also request 1 educational item that will help your child, It is then theirs to keep for fu-ture students. Please find your item and send information to Carla at 270-925-0195 or info@gradsa.org and she will order. Time is almost up.

September 20th GRADSA Social 5:30 p.m. at Wendell Foster Center, Young Building

Welcome Rick Ebelhar from DSSKY as he shares their Buddy Walk success.

Please RSVP by 09/18/12 to Carla at 270-925-0195 or info@gradsa.org

September 22nd Holiday World Hours 11:30 a.m.—8:00 p.m. Part of Halloween Weekend

Splashin Safari Closed

October 20th Buddy Walk Smothers Park on the Riverfront 11:00 a.m.—2:00 p.m.

Don’t miss all the fun. More information inside of newsletter.

November 10th Family Fall Fun Night Old Home Place, Whitesville KY

Watch for more info

Hello Everyone…

First I want to apologize for the major mess up on the postcard for the GRADSA Social. Our guest will be Rick Ebelhar from South Central KY Down Syndrome Association. Please forgive me for the mistake and I promise you will not be listening to me and Jonathon speak so please come and enjoy the fun! I want to thank all of you for the prayers, cards and gifts during my surgery and recovery. I still have a long way to go but am doing good. Lose the Training Wheels was an amazing experience. We got to witness a wonderful staff from LTTW, loving volunteers, dedicated families and most of all the participants were determined and courageous. To all who were involved, I can-not thank you enough and I can’t wait until next year! The majority of this issue is dedicated to Buddy Walk as we gear up for our annual fundraiser. There are also some great Community pictures from the Messenger-Inquirer and some wonderful photos sent in. Please keep sending those special photos and some stories would be great too. Love you all bunches and thanks for letting me be a part of GRADSA.

Our children and adults with Down syndrome Our children and adults with Down syndrome Our children and adults with Down syndrome Our children and adults with Down syndrome

are the heart of our organization and our most precious gifts. are the heart of our organization and our most precious gifts. are the heart of our organization and our most precious gifts. are the heart of our organization and our most precious gifts. Volume 5 SeptemberVolume 5 SeptemberVolume 5 SeptemberVolume 5 September----October 2012October 2012October 2012October 2012

Comments from Carla...

UPCOMING EVENTS

GRADSA lost a very loving and wonderful family member on August 5th. Larry Wayne Edge has gone to be with the Lord. I was amazed to see how many people were at the funeral home and funeral. What a testament that was! Please keep Anji and the family in your prayers as this is a very hard time for them. Larry was such a great dad and husband. We are comforted to know Larry is in Heaven.

Goodbye Larry Edge...

Buddy Walk 2012... Buddy Walk 2012 will be at Smothers Park on the Riverfront. We are extremely ex-

cited about having the Buddy Walk at the new Smothers Park and hope it will be a great success. GRADSA will be recognizing top fundraisers. We will have food, games,

picture opportunities, vendors, inflatables, etc. We will also have the Michael Bush Band. Michael is the lead of the band and he has Down syndrome.

We realize with the new location there may be some confusion but we want to make

this transition as smooth as possible. Parking will be available in the parking garage,

side streets, 2nd street, etc. We plan to have courtesy buddies there at the parking

garage to help families carry lawn chairs. You may also pull up to the registration area

(St. Ann and Veterans Blvd.) and drop off your chairs then go park. We will have maps

of where everything will be laid out. We will have volunteers from CERT to keep an

on our children plus we plan to have enough volunteers to assign buddies to your child

when going to the playground.

Please note that everyone needs to stop by the registration table to get a bracelet.

Due to the crowd that will be at the river you will need the bracelet to participate in

games and to eat. The general public will be allowed to roam our area and visit the

Vendor tables but will need bracelet to participate in games and eat.

Buddy Walk 2012 T-Shirts...

T-Shirts will require a donation of $5.00 per shirt. We will have a pick up date sometime during the week before Buddy Walk. If you want to pre-order your shirt to be guaranteed one then please send the following information to Carla at info@gradsa.org or mail to PO Box 2031, Owensboro KY 42302. Carla must receive by September 30th. Thanks so much.

Name:_______________________________________________________

Shirt Size: Adult S M L XL 2X 3X

Youth XS S M L XL

Please make checks payable to GRADSA. You can mail or pay when you pick up the shirts.

A limited supply will be available at the Buddy Walk for those not pre-ordered.

From Sherry Cook, Buddy Walk Coordinator and mom to Matthew

I realize many of you are committed in other areas as most of us are these days, but if you feel you could have any extra time in the next 5 weeks to help with the Buddy Walk or help the day of the Buddy Walk in any small way at all, please call us.

We have the following subcommittees we need help with before the walk:

1) Volunteer Coordinating

2) Picking up Silent Auction Items

3) Picking up Food and Supplies the week before

We also need help in the following areas the day of the walk:

1) Volunteer Coordinator

2) Set UP/Tear Down,

3) Pizza Pick Up

4) Silent Auction Assistance and Security

We also need themed Gift Baskets for Silent Auction. If you are able to donate one please let us know the theme so we can have a bid sheet ready.

We need high school and college volunteers to be buddies for the children and courtesy buddies to help individu-als carry items from their cars in the parking garage.

We appreciate any and all help we can get.

Please contact the following people to help out or if you have any questions about Buddy Walk.

Sherry Cook 270-302-1739 Sara Vance 270-313-0803 Carla Renfrow 270-925-0195 or info@gradsa.org

From Our Families...

Matthew Cook helping stuff envelopes for Buddy Walk Sponsors. Way to go Matthew!!!

Mason Clark the morning of first day of

Kindergarten and then after Kindergarten.

One tired boy!!!

Buddy Walk 2012 continued… This year we will be using Active Giving instead of First Giving. There will be more information on this at the GRADSA Social on September 20th so please attend. Top donors will be recognized.

Below are instructions to register your own fundraising page :

* Go to http://www.active.com/donate/gradsabuddywalk2012

* At top of the web page, click Become a Fundraiser

* You must create an account to use the website. An account will allow you to create a per- sonalized website for your loved one where your family and friends can donate money.

* Once you have created an account, you will be asked to enter a name for your webpage and complete the URL for your page. I suggest using your loved one’s name.

* Once you continue, you are able to modify your personal page-upload a picture, add per- sonal in formation, etc. You can set a fundraising goal to display on your webpage. Review your options for showing your contributors before publishing your page.

* In the bottom right hand corner, click Publish.

* Copy your webpage URL (address) and send to all of your friends and family or share on Facebook.

Be sure and come to the Social on September 20th to learn more. Good food, great friends and more info on Buddy Walk.

In our Community...

The Daviess County Water Rockets Special Olympics swim team participated in the Kentucky State Games June 2-3 in Richmond. The ream won two gold, seven silver and a bronze medal. Pictured from left, back row, coach David Huston, coach Patsy Duke, assistant Brandon Powers, coach Tony Hamilton, coach Bethany Monforte, coach Matt Rowe, head coach Debbie Russell; middle row, Shannon Mahoney, RayAnna Hutchins, Leland Isbill, Kenny Francis, Dana Hamilton, coordinator Deanna Isbill, assistant coordinator Lori Winstead; front row, Ian Powers, Paige Roberts, Abby Stuart, Samuel Winstead, Matthew Huston, Collin Powers.

Lose the Training Wheels 2012...

Amie Morris with volunteers Molly and Brett

Colin Powers with LTTW staff John

Dana Hamilton with Camp Coordinator Isaac

Kelsey Dueker with

volunteer Rachel

Matthew Huston with

dad David

Merek Justice with LTTW staff Andrea

Michael Smith with LTTW staff John

Nicholas Walker with volun-teers Jordan and Katie

Paige Roberts with LTTW staff Andrea

Sam Mahoney with volun-teer and GRADSA parent

Renea Estes

Sam Winstead with

Volunteer Stephani

Taylor Palmer with

volunteer Logan

SEPTEMBERSEPTEMBERSEPTEMBERSEPTEMBER NOVEMBERNOVEMBERNOVEMBERNOVEMBER

2 Jeff Rhinerson 4 Jonathon Whittaker

4 Mitchell Hensley 10 Matthew Huston

9 Isaac Ramsey 10 Elijah Hale

10 David Fogle 18 Ben Pace

11 Kelsey Dueker 25 Joey McAtee

13 Raven Paulson 30 Steven Ballard

16 Kaleb Worman

18 Eli Rose

20 Ruby Hidalgo

21 Paige Roberts

21 Denise Howard

27 Trevor Brown

OCTOBEROCTOBEROCTOBEROCTOBER

8 Ana Lilia Sedillo

14 Blake Lamb

19 Lily Gray

28 Kenneth Douglas

Fazoli’s Birthday Club:Fazoli’s Birthday Club:Fazoli’s Birthday Club:Fazoli’s Birthday Club:

Fazoli’s, 5060 Frederica St., is treating individuals with Down Syndrome to a free meal to celebrate their spe-cial day. Children ages 12 and under can choose a kids meal while teens and adults have their choice of a small spaghetti with marinara or meat sauce. To re-ceive your free meal, show this column to the cashier

Happy Birthday!!!

“This is the day which the “This is the day which the “This is the day which the “This is the day which the

Lord has made:Lord has made:Lord has made:Lord has made:

Let us rejoice and be Let us rejoice and be Let us rejoice and be Let us rejoice and be

glad in it.”glad in it.”glad in it.”glad in it.”

Psalm 118:24Psalm 118:24Psalm 118:24Psalm 118:24

My favorite picture

from Lose the Training Wheels…

Dana Hamilton and Sam Winstead. Is this

precious or what???

Ashley Topaz, daughter of Carol Topaz. What a cutie!!!

MISSION STATEMENT

GRADSA’S mission is to enable families enriched with the Down syndrome connection to share resources, build friendships and advocate together for the future of individuals with Down syn-

drome.

SERVICES

GRADSA is an affiliate of the National Down Syndrome Society and the National Down Syndrome Congress. GRADSA is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that provides its members with a bi-

monthly newsletter, educational workshops, social activities, a website, a parent outreach program and a hospital outreach program. There are no membership fees to join.

POLICY STATEMENT

GRADSA does not endorse any specific therapy, treatment or educational setting. We provide a variety of information and viewpoints. However, each family must make an individual choice.

PRINTING OF ARTICLES

GRADSA welcomes articles from parents, professionals and other interested parties. Material for consideration should be sent to Carla Renfrow at info@gradsa.org. Articles written for Heart-Strings may be reproduced if credit is given to the original author and GRADSA. Permission to

reprint articles not original to HeartStrings should be acquired from the original source.

GRADSA P. O. Box 2031 Owensboro, KY 42302

info@gradsa.org www.gradsa.org

270-925-0195

Brenda Walker, President Carla Renfrow, Executive Director

Phone: 270-316-7219 Phone: 270-925-0195

Email: Brenda_walker@daviess.kyschools.us email: info@gradsa.org

Board Members:

Landon Barrowclough Anji Edge Renea Estes Lance Morris

Tony Hamilton Beth Ewing Kim Hartman Sondra Gilbert

Lori Marksberry Deanna Isbill Jonathan Estes Gary Estes

Non-Profit Org.

U.S. Postage Paid

Owensboro, KY

Permit No. 120