Fayetteville girl to appear in N.Y. campaign for Down syndrome

A local girl’s photo will be on display in New York’s Times Square Sunday, Oct. 19 as part of an awareness campaign by the National Down Syndrome Society.

Alexandria Goodman of Fayetteville will appear along with approximately 200 others in a video production that will be shown on the larger-than-life NBC Astrovision. Panasonic, which also has a production facility in Peachtree City, has donated 40 minutes of time on the large-screen TV in honor of October, which is recognized as National Down Syndrome Month.

The campaign is aimed at showing people with Down syndrome can successfully participate in community activities, education and employment.

The theme of the campaign is “Steps for a Brighter Tomorrow.”

Another event scheduled for October is the 2003 NDSS Buddy Walk, which will be held in more than 180 cities across the country. The national Buddy Walk will be held in New York City led by spokesman/actor John C. McGinley and actor Chris Burke.

Down syndrome is a genetic condition caused by the presence of three — instead of the normal two — copies of Chromosome 21 and affects more than 350,000 people in the U.S. alone. For information about Down syndrome and referrals to local and national resources, call the NDSS Helpline at 1-800-221-4602 or go to www.ndss.org.