Best Buddies!

Because this school year is coming to an end, our Best Buddies club has been thinking about an end of the year event that we could do to celebrate a great first year as a club, and also to try to recruit new members.

We came up with this awesome idea of a water-themed day, where we will be hanging outside at our track, playing all kinds of water games. We're also going to be participating with one of the gym classes (a grade 9 boys' gym class I believe), so that hopefully a few of those students will want to join Best Buddies next year (we really need guys too!).

One girl suggested that we have a few different stations set up, and then everyone would rotate around to them throughout the period. That's when I piped up, and suggested that we (meaning those of us who were in the meeting - the students who aren't in the spec. ed. class at our school) be the ones who run the events, because we already know our buddies . . . So this way, we can encourage the others to interact with our buddies, while running the events. Everyone seemed to like this idea, so I'm feeling pretty pumped about everything.

I am also going to be the president of the Best Buddies club at our school next year! I am very excited about this, and can't wait to see where things will go next year. Because I will be the president, I get to go to a conference for all the presidents and other volunteers who are involved with Best Buddies, to get different ideas to recruit more members, keep the friendships everlasting, and really make Best Buddies a success at school.

I received an information package today about it, and wanted to share this bit from it:

Changing the world can be difficult. It is not often something that can be done by one person, but working together, people can make an important difference. As part of the Best Buddies program, you can help change the world one friendship at a time.
Through our 2010 Regional Leadership and Training Conferences, Best Buddies will be focusing on how we can work together as a team to achieve more than you can on your own ‐ and change the world.
“The strength of the team is each individual member...the strength of each member is the team.”‐ Phil Jackson, Chicago Bulls Coach, 1989‐1998.
The Best Buddies program is great because of the people involved in it. And each of your chapters can be great because of its volunteers. Building a strong chapter relies on the work of many people. Working together with staff advisors, chapter presidents, buddy advocates and volunteers, your chapter can achieve milestones that a single person would not be capable of.
“None of us is as smart as all of us.” ‐Ken Blanchard, American author and management expert.

It's great to see a group that is working towards inclusion. My main goal for next year: recruit more members, and spread the word about how important being accepted and included in your community really is.