USC Aiken hosts Buddy Walk, which focuses on Down syndrome

Bill Bengtson, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·2 min read

Sep. 18—USC Aiken's quad had abundant afternoon traffic Sept. 17, as the university played host to the local Buddy Walk, a traditionally annual event run by Upside of Downs of Aiken.

The organization, which focuses on Down syndrome, had not held a walk in Aiken since 2019 due to COVID-19. The event faced some weather anxiety due to Sunday morning's heavy rain, but the 2 p.m. campus walk was upbeat and rain-free. Dozens of walkers made their way around the quad in a colorful procession that lasted about 10 minutes.

"I would say we probably had between 150 and 200 people," said Upside representative Timothy Hall, who was part of Sunday's procession. "I think weather played a factor in keeping it down a little bit, and being the first time that we'd done it in four years kept it down a little bit, but I thought we had a really good turnout for the first time in a while, and with the weather."

The event is traditionally held in October, with that being Down Syndrome Awareness Month, and plans had been for all of Sunday's activities to be outdoors, but creativity came into play due to the threat of rain, so some of the festivities took place inside the Student Activities Center.

"We had our first Buddy Walk in Aiken in 2008, in conjunction with Family Connection of South Carolina," Hall said. "It is an awareness and inclusion event for Down syndrome. Nationally and internationally, it is the largest awareness and inclusion event for individuals with Down syndrome, and that's what we aim to do here."

The local organization, he said, helps arrange such activities as workshops and field trips. Hall's wife, Jenny, is the organization's chairperson, and the Halls came on board via their oldest child, now 21, having Down syndrome.

This year's walk, Timothy Hall said, had people traveling from as far afield as Lexington and Thomson, Georgia. "We had an individual with a 2-month-old child here, from Aiken, so this was their first outing in the Down syndrome community, so to speak, so it was good to have somebody young and involved. Our brother-in-law came up from Florida to walk with our son, so it's kind of cool to have people from different areas come in to walk."

USCA's athletic department was among the event's major backers, as were Tiffany Pediatrics, University Medical Associates of Aiken and Security Federal Bank.