By Jason Estrada
Best Buddies International is dedicated to serving the intellectual- and developmental-disabilities communities by giving them opportunities.
Blake Campbell, the state director of Best Buddies Iowa, said the group provides one-on-one friendships and leadership development. It focuses on middle-school, high-school, college, and adult levels in which individuals with disabilities are matched with peers in the Iowa City community for a yearlong friendship.
“It’s a mutually beneficial friendship, it’s not a mentorship, and each participant in those friendship matches are really looking for that mutual beneficial friendship and inclusion,” he said.
For individuals to be matched, they must find a chapter program. Each individual is matched or unmatched depending on the number of participants in the program to connect with a disabled person.
“It’s an opportunity for them to build a friendship with someone,” he said. “It’s just with an individual with a disability that maybe they wouldn’t normally [befriend] in their day to day life find a way to connect to build a friendship with.”
The program holds events for fundraising to support and expand the program, to raise visibility and awareness of identity in the community, and to build an inclusive and fun environment for everyone.
Campbell said Best Buddies is trying to expand from 35 to 50 chapters and that there are opportunities in other communities for the program to grow.
Not only do the members aim to expand their program, but they also want to include an integrated employment opportunity and to find ways to grow the adult program.
Kathryn Garvey, the president of the University of Iowa Chapter, has been involved with the program when she was introduced to it in high school.
“I have noticed an increase of members who come to Best Buddies having no prior experience with individuals with IDD. They’re no longer shy or standoffish in their interactions,” she said. “They realize there is much more to people than their disabilities and get to experience a truly genuine friendship.”
Her goal is to one day create a world in which people with disabilities are successfully integrated into an inclusive society in which the program’s services will not be needed.
Amanda Wilson, the vice president of the UI chapter, is in a one-on-one friendship.
“Everybody deserves a friend, and Best Buddies does a wonderful job encouraging meaningful friendships,” she said.