THE DOWN SYNDROME ASSOCIATION OF HAMPTON ROADS ANNOUNCES STEP UP FOR DOWN SYNDROME (‘SUDS’) WALK
SUDS Walk in Celebration of Down Syndrome Awareness Month
(August 31, 2025) – October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. In honor of this health observance, the Down Syndrome Association of Hampton Roads will be holding our annual Step Up for Down Syndrome (‘SUDS’) Awareness Walk to support its mission of enhancing the lives of individuals with Down syndrome in Southeast Virginia and Hampton Roads. The SUDS Walk is open to the public and will be held on Saturday October 18, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at Mount Trashmore Park in Virginia Beach, VA. Mount Trashmore Park located at 310 Edwin Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23462. ***The SUDS walk is free of charge for all individuals with Down Syndrome. Please be sure to check the indicated boxes when registering.*** To register, to donate or to create/join a team: https://runsignup.com/Race/VA/VirginiaBeach/SUDS
“Every year our Down syndrome community looks forward to the SUDS Walk to connect with friends, embrace new families, and walk to celebrate our loved ones,” said Tammy Nobles, President of the Down Syndrome Association of Hampton Roads. “Seeing the posters of our beautiful children along the walk is such an inspiration and we welcome all members or our Hampton Roads community to come out and join us.”
The SUDS Walk is more than just a fundraising walk. It unites Down syndrome families and the community to support and celebrate their loved ones and each other. During the event, SUDS walkers will enjoy posters highlighting accomplishments of individuals with Down syndrome along the walking path, great music, food and beverage trucks, and activities for kids including bounce houses. Funds raised during the SUDS Walk go towards advocacy, education, support groups and special events for families of Hampton Roads.
Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that results from having an extra copy or part of a copy of chromosome 21. In 1866, British physician John Langdon Down first described the physical features of a person with Down syndrome. Through his work, he became known as the “father” of the syndrome which was named after him. Children with Down syndrome generally achieve key developmental milestones later than other children. According to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), each year approximately 6,000 babies (1 of every 691 live births) are born in the United States with Down syndrome. To learn from our beautiful Hampton Roads families about Down syndrome and the Down Syndrome Association of Hampton Roads, please visit https://youtu.be/cShdQLhQftw
Click the image to watch Billie and Mary Miller on WTRK Coast LIVE.
HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - Billie and Mary Miller join us to talk about how the Down Syndrome Association of Hampton Roads has impacted their family and share the details of the Step Up for Down Syndrome Walk.
The SUDS Awareness Walk will take place Saturday, October 18, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Mount Trashmore Park in Virginia Beach.
