2008 Woodie Awards
Make friends with Best Buddies
Kim Kontrima
Issue date: 12/4/04 Section: Viewpoint
As I drove up a long back street of the suburban Worcester, I slowed a bit as I tried to find house number 143. Before I knew it, I had to look no further. A young teenage girl with bushy hair in a ponytail on the top of her head jumped off the steps of a brick house and ran down the yard and clear into the middle of the street. "Kim, KIM! Hi KIM! You're here! This is my house!" I pulled off to the side of the road, took a deep breath, and stepped out of my car and said, "Hi, you must be Julie, I'm Kim."
"I know that, silly! We talked on the phone last night, remember!" Julie said as she tackled me and gave me the biggest hug. "Come on, let's go see my room." She grabbed my arm and dragged me up to her house, and before I knew it, we had entered her room and with one of her arms around me and the other holding a Polaroid camera in front of us she let out a loud "Say Cheese! Yet! Our first picture! Look at this frame I bought for it!"
I was blessed to be introduced to Julie through Best Buddies, one of the more unique volunteer programs offered through the Reach Out Center. Best Buddies is an international organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for one-to-one friendships. A world-renowned program, Best Buddies is known for its success in providing people with intellectual disabilities the chance to explore new friendships and widen their social circles. There are chapters all over the world: Australia, Columbia, Cuba, Denmark, Egypt, Hong Kong, and Ireland, just to name a few. The students involved in "College Buddies" learn about leadership, community service, and their roles as leaders in the community. While students who participate in this program learn a lot about service and leadership, the friendship that they gain is so much more than one can ever imagine.
In our program, based on similar interests, a student is be matched up with a high school student from Burn coat High School who has a mild to moderate form of an intellectual disability. At least once or twice a month, the Buddy Pairs meet up to enjoy friendship by doing activities together they both enjoy. They may grab some food together, see a movie, or even catch a Worcester Ice Cats hockey game. Beyond that, Buddies can call each other and e-mail back and forth to keep in touch.
"I know that, silly! We talked on the phone last night, remember!" Julie said as she tackled me and gave me the biggest hug. "Come on, let's go see my room." She grabbed my arm and dragged me up to her house, and before I knew it, we had entered her room and with one of her arms around me and the other holding a Polaroid camera in front of us she let out a loud "Say Cheese! Yet! Our first picture! Look at this frame I bought for it!"
I was blessed to be introduced to Julie through Best Buddies, one of the more unique volunteer programs offered through the Reach Out Center. Best Buddies is an international organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for one-to-one friendships. A world-renowned program, Best Buddies is known for its success in providing people with intellectual disabilities the chance to explore new friendships and widen their social circles. There are chapters all over the world: Australia, Columbia, Cuba, Denmark, Egypt, Hong Kong, and Ireland, just to name a few. The students involved in "College Buddies" learn about leadership, community service, and their roles as leaders in the community. While students who participate in this program learn a lot about service and leadership, the friendship that they gain is so much more than one can ever imagine.
In our program, based on similar interests, a student is be matched up with a high school student from Burn coat High School who has a mild to moderate form of an intellectual disability. At least once or twice a month, the Buddy Pairs meet up to enjoy friendship by doing activities together they both enjoy. They may grab some food together, see a movie, or even catch a Worcester Ice Cats hockey game. Beyond that, Buddies can call each other and e-mail back and forth to keep in touch.