The Arc of Volusia Raises Over $12,000 During 15th Annual Buddy Walk

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Nov. 7, 2016 - PRLog -- The Arc of Volusia, Inc. celebrated their 15^th Annual Buddy Walk on October 22^nd at First Baptist Church – DeLand and raised over $12,000. The event is held in October in honor of National Down Syndrome Awareness Month.

"It was great to see so many new faces and teams this year," said Arc Executive Director, Audra Burd. "We hold the event to raise awareness for individuals with Down Syndrome and other intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as raise resources for our programs," she added.

This year, and for the past seven years The Rotary Club of Downtown DeLand has not only provided the food, but served all the attendees as well. There were 48 teams, 109 registrants and over 300 participants in this year's walk. There were also approximately 100 Arc of Volusia clients that attended the event. Eighteen Arc of Volusia staff, and over 30 volunteers from Frontier Communications helped coordinate clients, set up, help with games and activities, clean up after the event, and more.

Participants enjoyed lunch, water throughout the day, games, and activities including inflatables, carnival games, cotton candy, entertainment and more. The walk was followed by an awards ceremony with clients receiving participation awards.

The Arc Volusia is a nonprofit organization founded in 1962 by parents who were concerned about their children with disabilities. Fifty-three years later, The Arc continues to lead the way in promoting awareness of the strengths and achievements of Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), We currently serve 230 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities – helping them develop life skills, increase their independence, and creating opportunities for them to earn a paycheck.

The Arc's community impact focuses in four areas - education, employment, health and basic needs.

The Arc of Volusia has two campuses, one in Daytona and the other in DeLand.  For those interested in becoming a volunteer, a sponsor, or an Arc member supporting The Arc of Volusia's mission of "Providing the opportunity for hope, growth, and change to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in our community",  the organization can be reached via phone at 386-274-4736, or online at www.arcvolusia.org, or https://www.facebook.com/TheArcVolusia.