Walk for Independence supporting Easterseals Iowa
Walk for Independence

About Walk for Independence

Join us for a virtual Walk for Independence Challenge to raise money for Easterseals Iowa, supporting Iowans with disabilities Live, Learn, Work and Play in their communities. 

This year our Walk for Independence is has gone totally cyber! We want to challenge you all to make a donation and pass it on, tag your family and friends to participate on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or send an email! 

You can start your own team, join a team, or join as an individual. Once you make a donation tag your friends on social media or send emails sharing why you walk, where you walk, or who you walk with using the #SunnysideCyberStyle. Make sure to snap a selfie with your printed out, or digitally incorporated mascot Cheerio the traveling sun! Let's see how far Cheerio can travel, and how many different places he can visit. 

Examples: 

-I walk for my brother Zach, a camper at Camp Sunnyside! 

-I walk from the Edinburgh castle, but in the summers I come to the Untied States to be a camp Counselor! (Can we get this challenge across seas?!)

-I walk with my family! 

-I walk because I was a counselor at Camp Sunnyisde in 1967 and met my husband there.

Check out our Virtual Toolkit HERE

Purchase an exclusive RayGun Camp Sunnyside T-shirt HERE! 


Date

Starts at:  July 28, 2020 8:00 AM
Ends at:  September 30, 2020 11:59 PM

Location

,

Contact

Easterseals Iowa
515-309-9772
alensing@eastersealsia.org

Cheerio Sunnyside!

Hi Friends! 

My name is Cheerio Sunnyside, and I am the mascot for #SunnysideCyberStyle! My purpose in life is to help raise money for Iowans with disabilities, while traveling the globe and meeting all of you! I would really love if you would download and either print, or digitally place my photo on your photos of why you walk, where you walk, or who you walk with! You can find those downloads HERE. Once you take your photos, post on social media and tag a friend so I can travel on! Don't forget to add #SunnysideCyberStyle so Easterseals Iowa can see how far I travel! 

How Your Support Makes a Difference

Your donation to the Easterseals Iowa Walk for Independence supports people with disabilities so they can Live, Learn, Work and Play in our community. Easterseals Iowa is proud that 93 cents of every dollar raised goes directly to client services. All money raised stays right here in Iowa and your gift is tax deductible. Contact Allison Piazza for additional sponsorship information at 515-309-9774 or apiazza@eastersealsia.org. Thank you for considering a gift to support our mission!


Ambassador Aiden

Aiden spent his first summer at Easterseals Day Camp at Camp Sunnyside last year. He has talked about it everyday since. Everyday he asked if it was time to go to camp because he loves it so much. In his words it was "the best summer ever." Aiden's Dad Denis says, "At Camp Sunnyside he met the most phenomenal staff, made a lot of friends and did things that he wouldn't be able to do outside of Camp Sunnyside. We love Camp Sunnyside because it is an inclusive environment that allows Aiden to learn and have fun at the same time. We are also confident that he is well taken care of by the staff."

Ambassador Carrick

Carrick is full of energy, very curious and a social butterfly. He attends respite weekends at Camp Sunnyside as well as Day Camp during the summer. Carrick’s mom Liz says Camp Sunnyside is Carrick’s happy place. On Camp days he leaps out of bed and he’s ready to go, doing his happy dance in the backseat of the car on the drive. Liz says at Camp, Carrick can just be Carrick—no apologies. The staff support him to climb rock walls and perform in talent shows. Camp is a place where Carrick is accepted and grows in independence and confidence.

Ambassador Emily

Emily has grown up at Camp Sunnyside, attending resident camp and respite weekends when she was younger. Emily counted it as her first sleepover! Respite weekends were about Emily being with friends and having normal experiences with her peers. Now at Emily participates in adult day programming at Life Club. Here, Emily had the opportunity to use her singing talents when holiday caroling with Life Club at area businesses that support Easterseals Iowa. Emily says she goes to Life Club to volunteer, because she helps all of her friends!

Ambassador Reagan

In high school, Reagan had a lot of built-in support with her family and in the West Des Moines School District. However, when she started college, she knew very few people but wanted to go somewhere to start fresh, make new friends and try new adventures. Through the assistance of Easterseals Iowa and her own initiative, she is steadily forging ahead and learning how to successfully live independently with our Supported Education program. Her most recent big step in this direction is that she is now living in the dorms in the university of her choice.

Ambassador Meghan

Meghan has been a part of the 24-hour Supported Community Living program for many years. She spends her time volunteering in the community at a variety of places, participating in Special Olympics, swimming and soccer. Meghan has become an extremely independent person with the help of Easterseals Iowa.

 
"I love being an Easterseals Ambassador at all of the events but especially Walk for Independence.  Easterseals Iowa means everything to me. It lets me be independent so I don’t have to live with my parents.” 



Thank You to our Generous Sponsors