The Omaha Walk, a festival organized to raise awareness for Down Syndrome

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) — One in 775 babies is born with Down syndrome in the United States. On Sunday, thousands of people gathered at the Riverfront to raise awareness for them.

2024 marked the 23rd year for the Step Up For Down Syndrome Walk and Family Festival. It is hosted each year by the Midlands Down Syndrome Alliance.

The number of participants in the event continues to grow. Event coordinator Samantha Kruse said about 3,000 people have signed up to take part in the 2024 walk.

This year marked the first time the event was held at Heartland of America Park.

“We are so excited to partner with Riverfront this year,” said Kruse. “It was such an amazing collaboration. Especially moving to this location, it really increased the visibility of the area. We are so excited about this partnership.”

Kruse said the event was created to bring awareness to resources in the Down syndrome community; both locally and regionally.

In addition to dozens of booths from local agencies, there is a fundraising walk. The half-mile trail raises money for families directly affected by the disorder.

“Having DSA here locally is amazing. I also have two older children. I have an 11-year-old and a 7-year-old,” said Maggie Funkhouser, an area mother of Fox, who has Down syndrome.

Funkhouser continued, “It definitely helped them normalize things and realize that, yes, Fox has Down syndrome, but he’s still their brother and he’s still Fox. All these individuals and families here, they’re just like anybody else.”

Kruse said 150 volunteers worked to coordinate the event. Their goal was to raise $155,000 for the families.

“A lot of people, unless you know someone or have met someone with Down syndrome, don’t know a lot about Down syndrome,” Kruse said. “So it’s a great way to spread awareness in the community so people are more aware.”

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. DSA hosts various events throughout the month to recognize the community. You can learn more about them here.

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