24th Annual Statewide Down Syndrome Awareness Walk

Event T-Shirts

T-shirts are available for optional purchase during registration. Join the entire state of Wisconsin in uniting to support our friends with Down syndrome and related disabilities by repping one of our 2020 shirts! Register by August 28, 2020 to be guaranteed a t-shirt by Walk Day. T-shirts will be shipped directly to the address you provide. They are $10 each plus shipping.

In June-August, join us on Facebook every Friday at 2pm for a live video or post with challenge updates and winners! Each week, we will update you on the following week's challenge, highlight winners from the current week's challenge, and do giveaways for participants who are registered for our Walks! Tune in to see self-advocates, staff, and sponsors introducing fun challenges that YOU can participate in to win! Make sure to follow us on Facebook for the latest updates and use #DSAWVirtualWalk to stay connected.

This year, we will be running a months-long 21 Showcase on social media! Click here to submit a photo/video so that we can introduce your loved one to our friends across the state!

Now more than ever, your support of DSAW is crucial. The majority of our programs and events are fully funded by fundraising that takes place at this annual Awareness Walk. We need YOU to come out strong at this Walk, more than ever before. And we have some fun ideas of how to fundraise!
- Host Zoom Trivia with your friends
- Donate your talents! If you are a yoga instructor (or another fitness coach), or have an artsy hobby that you can teach people (knitting, painting, cooking a dish) offer a virtual class for a donation
- "If I raise $____ for DSAW in the next week, I will..."
  - Share a video of my kid throwing a pie in my face
  - Participate in a viral Tik Tok dance challenge with my kids
  - Do 21 minutes of live stand-up comedy on Facebook
  - Have my kid give me a quarantine hair cut
- "If you donate $___ to my Walk team, I will go one mile in any way you choose!"
- The sky is the limit! If you have other fundraising ideas or use one of these, share with us @DSAWisconsin or with #DSAWVirtualWalk

This year, it will be incredibly easy to fundraise creatively on Facebook! After you register for our event, you will have the option to link a Facebook fundraiser to your team on Qgiv. Thermometer totals will be updated automatically as you receive donations thru Facebook fundraisers. Make fundraising incredibly easy for your networks!
Note that you must create your Facebook fundraiser via Qgiv's My Fundraising Dashboard and not directly through Facebook. If you create the fundraiser on Facebook first there is no way to connect your fundraiser to our event.
If you don't connect to Facebook when setting up your profile, you can connect at a later time. Navigate to your personal fundraising dashboard then click the link to connect your fundraiser to Facebook. The button is located toward the bottom of the personal fundraising dashboard.

In the month of September, each day will be a new challenge for you and your families! We will prove that DSAW is virtually inseparable as you share your lives with us. We'll have exercise challenges, costume contests, creativity competitions, spirit days, and more!! Stay tuned for more info.

We know you all like to win things! In the week leading up to the walk (September 21-27), we will have an online silent auction and buy now items. Featuring huge raffle baskets, gift cards, and more! DSAW staff will either deliver or ship items to auction winners. Our virtual auction website will launch closer to Walk Day.

DSAW families from across the entire state will come together to raise awareness and acceptance of our loved ones on Sunday, September 27. Tune in to our virtual, statewide pre-walk program and celebration (starting at 10am) and join us at Franklin Field for a drive-in movie style program at 1pm, followed by a giant awareness car parade!
We are excited to welcome you to our Awareness "Walk" Car Parade on Sunday, September 27!! We can't wait to get families together in a safe and physically distant way while celebrating our friends with Down syndrome! We will have a virtual program video online at 10am. In the afternoon, join us at Franklin Stadium, home of the Milwaukee Milkmen, for a brief in-person program drive-in movie style!! Program will begin at 1pm. A giant awareness car parade will follow. Please fill out this brief sign-up form to join us. This is a DIFFERENT registration form than the virtual walk participant registration. More details will be emailed to you as we get closer to the event. We can't wait to see your beautiful faces!!
We will NOT be meeting at the Zoo or hosting a family festival, but we are hopeful we will get to see you in person on September 27!

August 31 is an important deadline for fundraising prizes. If your team raises at least $1,000 by August 31, you will be entered into a drawing to win an iPad! If your team raises at least $2,000 by August 31, your team captain will receive a yard sign with their loved one's picture to help raise awareness and acceptance in their community!
The cut-off for donations that qualify for the Top Five Fundraising Prizes is 11:59PM on Saturday, September 26. All cash and check donations must arrive at the DSAW office by noon on Friday, September 25 to qualify. We have fantastic prizes for our top five teams! As a special thank you, the First Place Team will have their child's picture on the DSAW Billboard before the 2021 Awareness Walk! (Past winners from the last two years are NOT eligible to win this prize).
There are chances to win for everyone! We will be doing drawings and prizes for fundraising, team size, and more throughout the coming months.