Inclusion and more

The Best Buddies chapter at Chaparral High School is truly an OUTSTANDING CHAPTER!  The chapter has been led by Chapter President Trent Waller for two years! Trent is matched in a one-to-one friendship with his buddy Jake Ornstein! Trent and Jake are both seniors this year which means they'll be graduating soon! Jake and Trent like to go to chapter events, attend BBAZ events and they text! As Chapter President, Trent has done an outstanding job bringing new life into Beet Buddies at Chaparral High School!! Trent really has done an outstanding  job applying and utilizing what he learned during Local Leadership Training Day for Best Buddies Arizona and the 24th and 25th Annual Best Buddies International Leadership Conferences! The chapter is also led by two outstanding advisors Ms. Amy Palatucci and Ms. Angie Berk. They have been advisors for two years and attend chapter events and meetings with commitment. Ms. Palatucci is the department chair of the Life Skills Center...

Nashville, Tennessee is known at Country Music Capital of World. What else is Tennessee known for? They are known for Best Buddies. Best Buddies Tennessee recently celebrated their 5th year anniversary.   Will Macon is the newest Best Buddies Tennessee Program Manager. Will was recently hired by Best Buddies Tennessee. Will Macon and Bryan Link at the Best Buddies Missouri Friendship Walk Will Macon and his buddy Bryan Link met through the Best Buddies club at Vanderbilt University. Bryan is a Buddy Ambassador and has attended the Annual Best Buddies Leadership Conference for several years.  I met Will and Bryan during Leadership Conference in July 2011.  Will and Bryan recently participated in the Best Buddies Friendship Walk in St. Louis, Missouri. The walk was an effort to bring Best Buddies to the Show Me State. Will and Bryan's team: The Macon Clan starring Will and Bryan raised over $7,000 for Best Buddies Misso...

Samantha "Sam" Mason is truly an unsung hero of Best Buddies Arizona. Sam was involved in Best Buddies at Red Mountain High School and was Advisor of the Arizona State University Best Buddies chapter. She is now the Deputy Director of Development for Best Buddies Arizona. As the Deputy Director of Development, Samantha plans and executes many statewide events such as Buddy Prom,  Buddies for Birdies Golf Tourney and the Friendship Walk. Samantha oversees the State Young Leaders Council, CORE. CORE consists of nine committed student leaders who went through an application and interview process very similar to the one the Best Buddies International Young Leaders Council goes through! CORE worked with the Best Buddies International Young Leaders Council's YLC Development committee to develop their application process and the YLC Development provided support to CORE earlier this year. Lindsey Eaton and Sam Mason at Leadership Conference 2014 Samantha took over the...

The countdown has begun officially. 86 more days until the 26th Annual Best Buddies Leadership Conference in Bloomington, Indiana. 4 facts about Leadership Conference Leadership Conference has been hosted at Pepperdine University,  Georgetown University and Loyola College in Maryland before coming to Indiana University.  Best Buddies Arizona has had 3 chapters total win Overall Outstanding Chapter. Higley High School and Hamilton High School and Arizona State University have been awarded Overall Outstanding chapter. Best Buddies International is hoping to have the Young LeadeRs Council lead a majority of the sessions in the future. Yes, that's right no staff leading sessions eventually!   Leadership Conference has grown in attendance from 100 to over 1,500 student leaders. There are tracks for Buddy Ambassadors, Buddy Directors, Chapter Presidents, advisors and officers. Last year they filled up the top session of IU auditorium with BBAZ and some other states...

As you might know Erica Brody, former YLC chair  extraordinaire and friend to many recently hiked Mount Kilimanjaro as a result of a spur the moment discussion she had her friend Scott who asked her if she would climb the mountain. She accepted his invitation and they climbed together. Through a website that Best Buddies International set up for Erica's climb, she raised over $3,000 for the Best Buddies International Young Leaders Council. Erica raised that crazy amount of money through donations from Best Buddies International staff members, her family and friends and Best Buddies YLC members.  Soon after the climb, the YLC held a conference call and debated about how we were going to use Erica's money. We ultimately decided we were going to launch a CHAPTER INNOVATION CHALLENGE that would allow us to reward a few outstanding Best Buddies chapters the funds needed to host innovative events or fundraisers.  With her funds, we recently launched the Chapter Inno...

As a Best Buddies Ambassador, I have the chance to travel around the great state of Arizona and educate people about Best Buddies through public speaking. I'd like share some tips with you: 1.  Tell your story in a powerful way One of the purposes of public speaking is to tell your story. There are countless ways to share your story Share a favorite memory from your time in Best Buddies Share an interesting fact about why you joined Best Buddies (was it an encounter with a student with a disability? Was it a family member with a disability?" Part of telling your story is tying in powerful details that you think would move the audience to tears.  Telling your personal story about why Best Buddies has changed your life will allow you to captivate the audience. 2. Know your Audience Are you speaking to a group of college students? Are you speaking to government officials? Are you speaking a fundraiser for Best Buddies International or...

Good Afternoon i4cp Attendees, My name is Lindsey Eaton and I have Autism. Autism is characterized by difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people. While many people see it as a negative label or something that could hold me back, I see it as a diagnosis of AWESOMENESS . Yes sometimes it’s hard for me to communicate but through Best Buddies I have the ability to use my voice and be heard. Yes sometimes I have trouble building relationships but again with the help of Best Buddies I have many relationships with long lasting friends. As you can see my voice is heard, loud and proud and nothing …not even my AWESOMENESS can take that away from me. Growing up before Best Buddies was miserable. I used to wonder if anyone would ever want to be my friend. I saw my sisters making friends in school and I was alone and isolated . That broke my parent’s heart. They just wanted me to feel accepted and have friends. It wasn’t until my freshman year o...

As you know probably already, I have been published in the book "Stand Up! 75 Young Activists Who rock the World and How you Can too!" for my work with Best Buddies! As a published author, I receive a check from a percentage of royalties  for every sold copy.  3 reasons why you should order this book 1. There are inspirational stories from 75 Young Activists who Rock the World through activism  2. The book has received numerous awards  3. Anthony Kennedy Shriver mentions me in his praise for the book! “ Stand Up!  is a true testament to the power of youth. Young people like the ones included in this book have some brilliant ideas—not to mention a fresh perspective—and if we don’t take the time to listen to them, we’re doing children and our children’s children a huge disservice. I am honored that Lindsey Eaton—a young woman with an intellectual disability—and Best Buddies are included.” ~ Anthony K. Shriver,  Founder and Chairman of Best Buddies Int...

Growing up without Best Buddies was a challenge. I often would wonder if anyone would want to be my friend so I could have someone to hang out with by going to the movies, going to concerts, going bowling or to just talk to about life issues. I used to sit alone at home while my sisters would go to activities with their friends.   Before I came to Chaparral High School, I pulled up the list of clubs offered on the school's website to find out what clubs were offered at Chaparral. I quickly discovered that Chaparral had a Best Buddies chapter and immediately fell in love with the idea of building friendships with my peers and becoming a leader.  I attended my first chapter meeting and was instantly drawn to Best Buddies mission. I filled out a membership application to be a buddy. My freshman year of high school I was only matched with four associate member buddies.  Emma Kath, Emma Kitnick, Rachel Robins and Emmie Ray, due to the fact that Chaparral had a shortage of ...