HOLLYWOODS HOTTEST STARS GATHER FOR 7th ANNUAL "BE BEAUTIFUL BE YOURSELF" FASHION SHOW BENEFITTING GLOBAL DOWN SYNDROME FOUNDATION

Actors Terrence Howard, Beau Bridges, Minka Kelly, and John C. McGinley Among Celebrities to Attend Gala Fundraiser on October 24 at the Colorado Convention Center

Actors Terrence Howard (Empire), Beau Bridges (Masters of Sex), Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights), John C. McGinley (Scrubs), and supermodel Beverly Johnson will lead a cavalcade of Hollywood stars and professional athletes attending the 7th annual “Be Beautiful Be Yourself” fashion show gala for the Global Down Syndrome Foundation (“Global”) on October 24, 2015, at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, CO.

The star-studded event features 20 brilliant and beautiful models with Down syndrome paired with celebrities who will escort them on the runway at the fashion show fundraiser. Additional celebrity participants and attendees include: actress Jamie Brewer (American Horror Story), Miss Colorado Kelley Johnson, NFL Denver Broncos players Britton Colquitt and Brandon McManus, Broncos cheerleaders, Colorado Rockies baseball player Carlos Gonzalez, NBA Denver Nuggets players Kenneth Faried and Emmanuel Mudiay, and many others.

Emceeing the evening’s festivities are EXTRA correspondent and syndicated DAYTIME host Jerry Penacoli, and Denver’s Channel 9 news anchor Kim Christiansen.

Each year, Global presents the Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award to an individual who has tirelessly advocated for the rights of the differently-abled. This year’s recipient is American Horror Story actress and Down syndrome self-advocate, Jamie Brewer. Past self-advocate award recipients include Luke Zimmerman, Karen Gaffney, Tim Harris, Sujeet Desai, and Brad Hennefer. And other past award recipients have included Quincy Jones, Jamie Foxx, John C. McGinley, Beverly Johnson, Kyra Phillips, Tim Shriver, and Patrick Kennedy.

Global’s self-advocates who will strut their stuff on the runway include: 2015 Ambassador Clarissa Capuano, Jamie Foxx’s sister, aspiring dancer and former Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy recipient DeOndra Dixon, aspiring model and internet sensation Gigi Cunningham, and 18-year-old Devon Adelman who attended First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Beating the Odds” summit at the White House earlier this year, among several others.

The Global Down Syndrome Foundation’s “Be Beautiful Be Yourself” fashion show is the single largest fundraiser for Down syndrome in the nation. Held annually each October in observation of Down Syndrome Awareness Month, the celebrity gala attracts over 1,200 guests each year, and has raised nearly $10M since launching six years ago. For additional information, visit www.BeBeautifulBeYourself.org.

Global Down Syndrome Foundation is a public nonprofit dedicated to significantly improving the lives of people with Down syndrome through research, medical care, education and advocacy. Global supports two affiliates which together constitute the only academic home in the United States committed solely to research and medical are for people with Down syndrome - the Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome and the Sie Center for Down Syndrome. Global also publishes Down Syndrome World, a national award-winning quarterly magazine. For more information, visit www.globaldownsyndrome.org.

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Follow Global Down Syndrome Foundation on Facebook & Twitter @GDSFoundation.

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