It was a great day to be at The Pirates House for a RCSE meeting! President Karl Bohnstedt reminded everyone of the field trip to the Sheriff's Complex on Chatham Parkway on Friday, October 4th. This will take place of our regular meeting. Please RSVP with Kerri if you would like to attend. Once all business items were discussed, Laura Lane McKinnon introduced our speaker for the day, Tom Kenkel who is President of the Lowcountry Down Syndrome Society.
Tom became involved with LDSS in 2016 when he and his wife found out that their daughter would be born with Down Syndrome. The LDSS started out as a support group for parents with children with Down Syndrome. Along with providing support to parents, they also want to make sure children with Down Syndrome have access to quality educational programs, good health care, and a stimulating home environment. These children want to have fulfilling and productive lives and really enjoy being involved in groups and life. Every year, LDSS hosts an event called Night with Champions. They use this event to honor and tell success stories of people with Down Syndrome. The event has great community support.
An event they host for children is Camp Buddy. This is one or two week camp in the summer for ages 3-18. It started so children could continue to have access to OT, PT, and ST throughout the summer so they wouldn't lose skills while on break from school. The camp cost $400. One way LDSS helps support and defray the cost of Camp Buddy is through Buddy Walk. Buddy Walk is a one loop walk around Forsyth Park followed by a festival. This year it will be held on Saturday, October 5th. They are always looking for volunteers to help set up and clean up and for partnerships and teams for the event. To learn more about Buddy Walk, please visit ldssga.org