Local Teen Featured in “Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show”

By Emily Bontrager 

Local teen, Elliot Dougherty, will be traveling to Denver, Colorado as one of 18 models for the Global Down Syndrome Foundation’s annual “Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show.” Elliot is 16 years old and he and his family are from Taylor, MO. Elliot’s parents are Tony and Kate Dougherty, and he has two sisters, Olivia and Ella. Elliot has Down syndrome but having an extra chromosome does not stop him from achieving his dreams and living a full life. He is a freshman at Marion County R-II, where he plays basketball and baseball. Elliot has a love for music, and he enjoys playing the trombone in the marching band. He also loves animals, hunting, fishing, traveling, and is a people person. Global’s “Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show” is the largest fundraiser for Down syndrome in the world. Many celebrities come out to raise awareness and support the fundraiser each year. This year, some of the celebrities include Woody Harrelson, Sofia Sanchez, Jessica Biel, Laura Linney, Madison Tevlin, and Bobby Farrelly. Over the last 15 years, the fundraiser has raised over $28.5 million to help with life-changing and lifesaving research, medical care, education, and advocacy. “Down syndrome used to be the least funded area of research. Thanks to Global Down Syndrome and Michelle Whitten and their rural outreach and many of their other initiatives, they have increased that amount exponentially,” Elliot’s mother, Kate Dougherty said. “They are for lack of better words, the Mayo Clinic for the community of people with Down syndrome.” Each year, hundreds of people apply from across the country to model in the Global Down Syndrome Fashion Show. For three years, Elliot has applied to be featured in the fashion show. In June, he found out that his application was accepted. On Saturday, November 16, Elliot will be modeling on stage at the event, which will be held in the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. A group of Elliot’s friends and family will be flying out to support him. “Elliot is just absolutely excited because this is his chance. He is a little bit of an attention diva and he loves people,” Kate said. “It is really neat to represent the Tri-States and our rural area because it is a pretty neat group of children and adults with Down syndrome.” If you would like to learn more about the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show, donate, or sponsor a model, you can visit bebeautifulbeyourself.org. Kate and her husband run a non-profit organization called Down Country. Down Country provides education to the Tri-State area and promotes positive awareness for individuals with disabilities. You can donate and learn more about Down Country at upatdowncountry.com. Kate would like to invite the public to go to the Washington Theater in Quincy, Illinois on Sunday, November 17. The theater will be showing the movie Champions at 4:00 p.m. Champions is a sportscomedy about a former basketball coach who is ordered by a court to manage a team of players with disabilities. The movie stars Woody Harrelson and Madison Tevlin and is directed by Bobby Farrelly. This event is free for anyone who wants to attend.