4-Year-Old Arlington Heights Resident To Be Featured In Times Square

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — Bryson Berry is a star. A photo of the 4-year-old Arlington Heights resident has been selected out of nearly 3,000 entries in an annual contest held by the National Down Syndrome Society. Berry's photo will be part of a video presentation at New York City's Times Square.

Bryson's mom, April Berry, tells Patch the photo will be seen on two jumbotron screens, located above Dos Caminos restaurant in Father Duffy Square. The presentation will be livestreamed on the NDSS Facebook page from 8:30-9:30 (Central Time) on Sept. 7.

The one-hour video of 500+photographs includes children, teens, and adults with Down syndrome, from all 50 states, and 14 countries, according to April Berry.

"We are ecstatic to attend the Buddy Walk in NYC," April Berry tells Patch. "This will be the first time in New York City for the three of us, Ryan, myself and our middle son, Bryson. We fly in Friday, September 6 and are going to see the Times Square Video Saturday morning, then attend the Buddy Walk in Central Park that afternoon. Sunday, before we fly back home, we are going to catch a Mets game with other families of individuals with Down syndrome."

April Berry said there are two events the family participates in "to help make a positive change in each our local community and in the Down syndrome Community." These events are:

• The 2nd annual Bless Bryson's Heart Blood Drive will take place on Dec. 7. The family said it hosts this blood drive to mark Bryson's "Heartiversary," he had life-saving open-heart surgery as a 4.5 months old in December 2020. "Holding this Blood Drive helps us celebrate Bryson's completely repaired heart and reminds us to pay it forward," April Berry said
• Our Annual Ruby's Rainbow Fundraiser — In honor of World Down Syndrome Day on March 21st every year, the family ffundraises for college scholarships given to individuals with Down syndrome who are pursuing post-secondary educational opportunities. This year, we raised over $3,500 and were able to award a scholarship through Ruby's Rainbow to a friend who is starting her freshman year at Iowa this month. For more info on this endeavor, visit here https://321pledge.org/d/10576.