Buddy Walk Time - Wisconsin Upside Down

Jot It Down
FA LL
20 12
B U D D Y
WA LK
ED I T I O N
Buddy Walk Time
INSIDE
THIS ISSUE:
New Board
2
Tee Up
2
Karaoke
2
ABLE
3
Working
Together
3
The Next
Step
3
Buddy Walk
45
Loving
Louise
6
UHN
Foundation
6
Lending
Library
6
Brothers
Inspire
7
Welcome
7
Contact
8
50 &
Beautiful
8
Walker and author
Marilyn Horst of the
“Loving Louise” book
The 4th Annual
series. Greet the
Wisconsin Upside Down
Klements Racing SausagBuddy Walk
es, Piggly Wiggly Pig, the
is October 14th
War Hawk and other
at Steinhafels in
surprise guests. Enjoy
Waukesha
live entertainment from
Sunday,
October
14th
the Gallenbergers,
The fun kicks off at
Registration opens at
bouncy houses and
10am with registration.
10AM
much more!
The walk starts at 11am.
The first 500 entrants
get a Steinhafels coupon
worth $50 off a $100 or
more purchase!
Meet Grand Marshall,
self advocate, Eileen
At Steinhafels
US94 & HWY F
In Waukesha
Register today at
WIUSD.ORG
Go to WIUSD.org to
register and use the easy
on-line fundraising tools.
Raise just $50 and get
your lunch free! Tons of
other prizes available!
Children’s Foundation
The UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation offers
grants that help families
access health-related services
that may significantly enhance
the quality of life of a child
but are not fully covered by
the family’s commercial
health benefit plan. The
foundation provides financial
assistance toward the family's
share of the cost of medical
services.
This is significant because
they may offer to help pay for
therapies not covered by
your insurer or Katie Beckett. Therapies like hippotherapy are usually not covered
by traditional commercial
health insurance, even though
there are many studies that
show the benefit of this type
of therapy. However,
UnitedHealthcare Children’s
Foundation does give grants
for this type of therapy. To
qualify, you must carry commercial insurance for your
child, but it does not have to
be UnitedHealthcare.
There are criteria for these
grants, (cont. page 6)
PAGE
WIUSD Welcomes New Board Members
2
It been a busy summer at
WIUSD. We have welcomed
Frank Csizmadia, Martin
Current WIUSD
Hughes and Kelly Rose to the
Board Of Directors:
Robbin Lyons
Julie Wiltzius
Cheryl Boden
Frank Csizmadia
Martin Hughes
Kelly Rose
many hours each year to Tee
He and his wife Kris are ex-
Up For Down Syndrome, rais-
pecting a baby in December.
ing over $10,000 annually for
Wisconsin Upside Down.
Kelly Rose, is a successful
medical sales representative,
WIUSD Board of Directors.
Martin Hughes comes to us
who will be heading up our
Frank is the owner of long time
from The McHenry Group in
medical outreach program.
sponsor, Shelter From The Storm
Hartland where he specializes
She is the mother of a son
Roofing. He has a son named
in insurance and financial ser-
who has Down syndrome. His
Frankie, who has Down syn-
vices. Martin brings many
name is Charlie and you can
drome. Frank, his wife Jean and
years of Special Olympics
meet him and his team (Tuna)
the rest of the family dedicate
coaching experience with him.
at the Buddy Walk!
2nd Annual Tee Up For Down Syndrome
The 2nd Annual Tee Up for
Down Syndrome sponsored by
Shelter From The Storm has
raised over $12,000 so far and
more is still coming in. Each
year Shelter From The Storm
Roofing has sponsored a golf
outing and donated a portion
of the profits to WIUSD. Last
year the name was changed to
Tee Up for Down Syndrome
as the event became an official
benefit for WIUSD.
Thanks to sponsors: 3cNetwork, AllState, Barnes Chiro-
Karaoke night
practic, Brothers Painting, GA
Medical, GAF, GEG Painting,
Gulf Eagle Supply, Mestan
Home Improvement LLC,
Owen’s Corning, RC Insurance, Signicast, Special Needs
Financial Planning, LLC, Starr
Group, Surf Prep, Tenuta’s
Italian Restaurant, Trico Corp,
ULINE, Unique Haulin, UPMNorth American, David Breen
Wines, G-Man Music, Rocky
Rococo, Waterstone Bank,
and WISN .
After a fabulous day of golf at
The Legends at Brandybrook,
our golfers enjoyed a wonderful steak
Third Friday Karaoke Still Popular
is a great
place to
The third Friday each
month, you’ll find your
friends from WIUSD
hanging out at This
Great Coffee Place in
Hartland. Join us for a
fun night of music and
laughter at 365 Cottonwood Drive from 6:30
till 9pm.
make new
friends!
Free snacks are served and
JOT
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you can purchase wonderful
smoothies, coffee drinks, soft
drinks and more. The coffee
shop is not open on other
evenings, but Joan Flovag the
owner opens up just for our
teens and adults to have a nice
time.
Get there early if you want a
seat and wear your dancing
shoes. There is never a dull
moment. Caregivers can feel
free knowing that the evening
is well supervised. Make respite night of it by going out to
have a bite at one of the local
restaurants or stick around for
the fun! The more the merrier!
Dress up for “Scarey Karay”
on October 19th! Other
upcoming dates are November
15, December 20th, January
17, February 15th, & March 21.
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2012
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3
Achieving A Better Life Experience
The Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE) of 2011 (S. 1872/
H.R. 3423) will give individuals with
disabilities and their families the
ability to save for their child’s future just like every other American
family, and help people with disabilities live full, productive lives in their
communities without losing benefits
provided through private insurances, the Medicaid program, the supplemental security income program,
the beneficiary’s employment program, and other sources. The account could fund a variety of essential expenses for individuals including: medical and dental care, education, community based supports,
employment training, assistive technology, housing and transportation.
Currently the federal law prohibits
individuals with disabilities from
owning more than $2000 in assets
at any given time or they lose their
benefits. This prevents those with
disabilities from building independent lives and creates a model of
perpetual dependence on federal
assistance for a lifetime.
Information provided by the National Down Syndrome Society.
WI Down Syndrome Organizations
Working Together To Push ABLE
In 2012 Down syndrome organizations from across the state joined
the National Down Syndrome Society in Washington , D.C. to ask our
Wisconsin congressmen to support
the ABLE Act.
Members of Wisconsin Upside
Down, The Madison Area Down
Syndrome Society and The Down
Syndrome Association of Wisconsin have since been pressuring Wisconsin representatives and senators
to sign on to this ACT. Through
our efforts Senator Herb Kohl,
Representatives Sean Duffy and
Tammy Baldwin have signed on
to support this ACT, but we
need more support from our
Wisconsin congressmen.
Wisconsin Upside Down, The
Madison Area Down
Syndrome Society and the
Down Syndrome Association
of Wisconsin are working
together to support
important legislation.
The Next Step Needs You
The best way to get your congressmen to act on a piece of legislation
is to make your voice heard. They
want to hear from their constituents and that’s you. So pick up the
phone and call Senator Ron Johnson’s office and your Representative and tell them that you want
them to co-sign the ABLE Act.
their websites or by sending a letter. Go to NDSS.org for letter and
call in templates to help you make
the most of your efforts. Better
yet, when you attend the 2012
Buddy Walk at Steinhafels on
October 14th, you can sign a postcard to your congressmen and we’ll
mail it for you!
You can also contact them through
Wisconsin is lagging behind other
states in support of
this act. You can be
the one to help us tip
the scales and get this
passed into law, so that
your loved one can
have the right to save
for his/her future and
live a better life.
Take a minute to write your
congressman today!
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Grab A Group and Volunteer at The Buddy Walk
Each year over a hundred volunteers work together to make the
Buddy Walk special. The Buddy
Walk requires volunteers for parking, security, registration, information, raffles, kids games, walk
check points, t-shirts, face painting,
signs, set-up, and of course cleanup.
As you can imagine it is a big job ,
but lots of fun, especially if you
belong to a group that can show up
together! All walk volunteers get a
free t-shirt and perks. Best of all
they get to leave with wonderful
memories of a day filled with
smiles.
If you or a group would like to
volunteer, we still have positions to
fill! Please call 262-443-8690 or
send an e-mail to Robbin at
[email protected] and let her
know you’d like to help.
You’ll be so glad you did and we
will appreciate it more than you
know!
Buddy Walk History
The Buddy Walk was
developed by the National
Down Syndrome Society in
1995 to celebrate Down
Syndrome Awareness Month
in October and to promote
acceptance, awareness and
inclusion of people with
Down syndrome.
The Buddy Walk has grown
from 17 walks in 1995 to
nearly 400 walks in 2011
worldwide. In 2011, more
than $11.2 million was raised
nationwide to benefit local
programs and services, as
well as the national advocacy
and public awareness initia-
tives of NDSS that benefit all
individuals with Down syndrome.
Funds raised at the Wisconsin
Upside Down Buddy Walk
will be used by WIUSD to
help individuals with Down
syndrome right here in southeastern Wisconsin.
Photos From the 2011 Buddy Walk
4
PAGE
5
Thanks to Our
Sponsors
All New To The Buddy Walk This Year
The 4th Annual Wisconsin
Upside Down Buddy Walk
will have all the fun you
expect from this great family event and a bit more.
This year everyone can get
a free photo of your team
to take with you! Just go to
the photo booth inside the
community room at Steinhafels. What a great keepsake of the walk!
While you’re at the walk,
take a moment to fill out
a postcard for your congressmen asking them to
support The Achieving A
Better Life Experience
(ABLE) Act. We’ve done
all the work to put together the postcard, all
you have to do is sign it.
We will even mail them
for you!
Come early and get a free
Down Syndrome Awareness Bracelet (One per participant, while supplies
last.) The bracelets are a
great way celebrate Down
Syndrome Awareness
Month!
Register by going to WIUSD.ORG and clicking on
the Buddy Walk link on the bottom right side.
Adults $10 (age 12+)
Win prizes for raising money!
Children $8 (age 2-11)
Raise $50 get a free lunch
Kids under 2 are free!
Raise $200 get a team sign
Raise $2000 get a banner
Prizes for individual top fundraiser,
biggest team, most spirited team, top
fundraising team and much more!
Start your team today!
It’s not an easy thing
for a freshman varsity
football player to stand
in front of the whole
varsity team andare a
very personal story
about his family, but
that is what ArrowJOT
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Loving Louise by Marilyn Horst
Loving Louise is a
wonderful series of
books about a mothhen, who
er hen, who raises a
raises a
family of roosters.
family of
Each rooster has
roosters.
something special
about him that challenges him and others, but just
makes Louise love him more.
Louise is a
mother
Authors Cindy Ponko and Marilyn
Horst are donating a portion of the
proceeds from the sale of their
“Loving Louise” books.
The books in the Loving Louise
series are beautifully illustrated by
co-author Marilyn Horst of Hartland and the stories are based on
those told by Carol Seago about
her real Silkie hen from Northern
Wisconsin.
These books are wonderful stories
to share with your family about
acceptance, overcoming adversity
and unconditional love. The First
book is titled, “A Mother’s Love Is
For Always” book 2 is “Just Another Day on the Farm” and book 3 is
titled, “Patrick’s Colorful Scarf”,
The newest book 4 is coming out in
October.
The books are available on-line at
www.lulu.com and sales benefit
Wisconsin Upside Down.
UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation
Cont. from page 1
UnitedHealthcare
is once again
sponsoring
WIUSD in the
“Partners in
Philanthropy”
edition of The
Milwaukee
and the family’s financial situation is taken into account as
well as other information.
To find out more and to see
if your child may qualify for a
grant, go to www.uhccf.org
The UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation is a non-
profit Section 501(c)(3)
charity funded by contributions from UnitedHealth
Group, UnitedHealthcare
and its employees, as well as
the generosity of individuals
and corporations.
UnitedHealthcare has been a
sponsor of Wisconsin Upside
Down events for the past several years. We recognize and
appreciate all the good they
do in the community and especially their commitment to
bettering the lives of individuals with Down syndrome in
our state.
New Books In Our Lending Library!
Did you know that Wisconsin
Upside Down has a lending
library? The library list is available on-line with new books
added all the time. If you don’t
live close, you can just give us a
call at 262-563-1060 and we
can ship a book to you. We’ll
include a postage paid envelope
to return the book when you
are done with it!
The lending library has books
for parents and books for kids.
We have a whole set of
“Signing Time” DVD’s and inspirational videos about self advocates that are great for presentations and awareness days at
your school. We also have
brochures from many other
organizations that offer resources for those with disabili-
ties.
Borrowing resources is easy
and free !
New this month are the first
three Loving Louise books and
a great resource for teenage
girls called “The Girl’s Guide
To Growing Up” by Terri
Couwenhoven, M.S. who works
at the Down syndrome clinic at
Children’s Hospital in Milwau-
Business Journal.
6
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7
Brothers Inspire Team to Build Awareness
It’s not an easy thing for
a varsity football player
to stand in front of the
whole varsity team and
share a very personal
story about his family,
but that is what Arrowhead’s Blake Mielke did.
Blake told the team
about his relationship
with his brother Brock,
who has Down syndrome.
Blake told his team
that Brock is really just
like them. Even
though he takes a little
more time to learn
some things, eventually
he catches on, and
even though he may
seem different on the
outside, inside he is a
person, who has feelings and wants to belong. Blake said that
he hoped that when
his team members see a
person with a disability,
they will remember to
treat them with respect.
Because for the players
things may come easy,
but for people like Brock
it takes extra hard work
to be successful and they
deserve to be respected
for that.
Blake and Brock want
people with disabilities to
be seen as people first.
Left to right top: Blake Mielke, Brandon Kim, Kenny
Finco, George Panos and Brock Mielke (center front).
The Arrowhead Warhawks Varsity team is dedicating
every First Down and Take-Away this season for Down
syndrome. They are collecting pledges to support
Wisconsin Upside Down . Information about Down
syndrome has been passed out at the first home game
and announcements are made at every home varsity
game. More information about the fundraiser and
awareness campaign can be found at www.wiusd.org
A big welcome to our newest members, the
Moses Family! Meet the gang at the Buddy
Walk on October 14th and congrats to them
for winning a Wisconsin Upside Down backpack for being the first team to raise $500
for the Buddy Walk!
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Down syndrome is down right beautiful!
155 East Capitol Drive 9C
Hartland, WI 53029
Phone: 262-563-1060
E-mail: [email protected]
www.wiusd.org
Register on-line today
Or call us for your free membership!
Look for us on Facebook!
Wisconsin Upside Down
50 Years Young & Still Down Right Beautiful!
Congrats to Eileen Walker, a
self-advocate, who has Down
syndrome. Eileen turned 50
this past summer and she is
still down right beautiful.
Eileen has worked at McDonalds in Oconomowoc for over
22 years! She is an accomplished photographer, she
plays for the Waukesha A’s in
Special Olympics and she loves
to meet people.
Eileen is helping spread the
word to our congressman that
they should support the
Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act as a member
of the Wisconsin Upside
Down Legislative Advocacy
team.
Eileen will serve as Grand
Marshall for the 4th Annual
Buddy Walk on October 14th.
Learn more at WIUSD.ORG
Or just open up your newsletter to read more!