Photo by Katherine Miller
By Andrew Shukovsky
Elm Staff Writer
Best Buddies is an international non-profit organization founded by Anthony Shriver in 1989. A chapter had been established in Washington College since 1997. The club works with The Kent Center to create an enjoyable experience for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The three goals of the club are to create relationships, create leadership opportunities, and create employment opportunities.
Currently, WC’s chapter consists of 15 students and 35 members of the IDD community. In the club, each participant, or “buddy,” is paired with a WC student who becomes his or her peer buddy.
“We match them up based on their personalities,” said club secretary Heather Plocinik. “And you’re supposed to get together with them at least twice a month, and contact them at least once a week through e-mail or phone.”
Unfortunately, because the number of attending buddies outweighs the participating WC students, many buddies currently do not have any peer buddies to be paired with.
“That’s over 15 that don’t get a match,” said club president, Cicily Strong. “So [they] will not be contacted, will not have that one person with them. It’s sad. Our goal is to ensure those people have a buddy to be with.”
“We’re trying to rebuild the club right now,” said Plocinik. “We want to get more people involved so they can have friends that they can hang out with. We want really committed people who are going to make these buddies feel special.”
Photo by Katherine Miller
Claims to fame:
The club organizes many events. One of their largest is the annual Best Buddies Talent Show, in which the buddies practice “for weeks before the event” to show off their talents of singing, dancing, playing musical instruments, and the like. This year, the event took place on March 1.
“It’s a really fun event, and they love it,” Strong said. “We try to broadcast it, but it never really gets enough attention.”
Another large event is the annual Great Goose Chase, a 5K run/walk/wheel through WC’s campus. This year, the event took place on Saturday, March 29 and marked the run’s second year. The event was organized by Best Buddies Vice President Jimmy Comotto, senior. and Kent Center Administrator Bonnie Brady, both of whom had organized the event the prior year. All of the money raised by the event went to the Kent Center. In the previous year, enough money was raised for the center to buy a new bus, allowing the buddies to travel more.
Around 100 people showed up the First Annual Great Goose Chase last year. “Good turnout, especially for a small town like Chestertown,” said Comotto. “And we expect more this year.”
Other, lesser-known activities for the club have included going to the fitness center, movie nights, bowling, and many other fun events that the club members organize with their buddies.
Upcoming Events
On April 12, Best Buddies will host an Easter egghunt that will involve coloring eggs and scavenging around for others. The eggs will be filled with food or prizes. Last year the buddies who found the most eggs were given a prize.
The club will also host its “end of the year” barbeque which will take place on April 25 out on the Campus Green, and involve grilling hot dogs and hamburgers and playing football and being out in the sun.
Strong encourages anyone to join Best Buddies, particularly those interested in psychology, education, and pre-med.
“We want to inform more people about the club because [many people at] Washington College doesn’t even know Best Buddies exists,” said Strong. “We want people to know it exists so we can have people come and be committed and find time to work with these individuals one-on-one.”
Best Buddies meets every Thursday at 8 p.m. in Litrenta Hall. Anyone who is interested is also encouraged to contact Cicily Strong (cstrong2@washcoll.edu), James Comotto (jcomotto2@wascoll.edu), or Heather Plocinik (hplocinik@washcoll.edu).
Race Results:
First Place
Stephen Wheeler, 30
19:24
Second Place
Jeffrey Birkenriaier, 21
21:10
Third Place
Frank Whittington, 63
21:57