This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette.
Easterseals of Western and Central Pennsylvania will host the fifth annual Walk With Me Centre County event on Saturday, June 28, at Talleyrand Park in Bellefonte.
The community can join in and walk, stroll or wheel 1 mile to support individuals living with disabilities. According to Easterseals, one in four people in the United States has a disability, and funds raised will help the organization to support kids enrolled at the Easterseals Child Development Center in State College.
“Easterseals Child Development Center provides inclusive child care and preschool services for children of all abilities,” the organization explained in a statement.
The support reaches local kids like the 2025 Walk With Me Centre County ambassador, Keenan. Keenan is “a smart and silly” 4-year-old with developmental and speech delays.
“From Keenan’s first day at Easterseals CDC, Carly, the director and his teachers made sure he had intervention therapies to help him succeed,” Easterseals said. “At first Keenan preferred to play alone and was non-verbal, but since receiving speech therapy, occupational therapy and special instruction, he is more interactive with his peers, and his speech has progressed exponentially.”
The organization continued to explain that about 10% to 15% of kids between birth and age 5 across the nation have physical, cognitive, social and behavioral delays, representing nearly 3 million toddlers.
Mrs. Pennsylvania International, CW2 Amanda Strandburg, is a special guest at this year’s event. Strandburg is a State College native and a warrant officer in the U.S. Armed Forces. At the event, she will share her own story and how her nonprofit organization, Her Boots, supports women veterans.
For more information about the Walk With Me Centre County event, visit eastersealswcpenna.org or reach out to Colleen at 412-281-7244. Easterseals Western and Central Pennsylvania was established in 1935 and aims to be a leader to pave the way for 100% equity, inclusion and access for people with disabilities, their families and communities.
