Boardwalk Buddy Walk celebrates inclusion

A huge crowd walked along the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk Oct. 9 to celebrate individuals with Down Syndrome for the annual Boardwalk Buddy Walk.

The event, now in its 16th year, aims to celebrate and spread awareness about individuals with Down Syndrome and other cognitive disorders. This year, the event raised over $69,000, which will be donated to local organizations that support Down Syndrome causes, including a local kitchen that teaches individuals with cognitive disorders how to cook, according to Michelle Hetherington, event chair.

BWBW was created by organizers SharonLee and Dennis Diehl in October 2006 to honor SharonLee’s brother, David Samson, who had Down Syndrome. Samson attended the event for several years until his passing in 2018, at the age of 68. The original event had 350 attendees and has seen a lot of growth, with an estimated 1,000 attendees on Saturday.

“[David Samson] was such an inspiration,” Dennis said. “He has passed, but we have continued the event for all the other individuals with Down Syndrome.”

Many attendees have been coming to the event for several years. Eddie Drake, who has Down Syndrome, has been participating since it started in 2006, along with his parents. According to Eddie, the best part of the event is spending time with his friends.

“The event brings people from all over,” said Eddie’s father Bill Drake. “There are people who come here all the way from South Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia who come to see Eddie walk. It’s just an amazing encounter.”

“It’s an eye-opener to see how many people contribute each year,” said Fran Drake, Eddie’s mother.

After the crowd walked the Boardwalk, they gathered around the Rehoboth Beach Bandstand to dance and celebrate. Self-advocates were honored with a medal from SharonLee Diehl.

Michelle Hetherington took to the Bandstand with her nephew Luke Archer and shared her inspiration for becoming event chair. She first took part in the event 11 years ago, when her nephew was just 4 months old. She found herself stuffing envelopes for the organization and now she helps plan the annual gathering alongside SharonLee and Dennis, she said.

“It makes me emotional to be here. My goal is for Luke to be accepted. That’s why I do this, and that’s what this means to me,” she said.