Best buddies fundraiser

Alyssa Klimowski, Team Leader

   Best Buddies is a club where students with disabilities can pair up with students without disabilities to form a friendship. This meeting was centered around Valentine’s Day. They had many stations geared towards Valentine’s and their upcoming fundraiser.

   “We made a few posters for our fundraiser coming up, which is on Feb. 25, at Mod Pizza in  Highland. It’s going on almost all day,” Elizabeth Haberling (12) said.

   This club is a great way to show your support for the IDD (intellectual and developmental disability) community. Teens have a chance to bond with a student.

   “My favorite part about being in this club is seeing everybody connect, especially with the kids who don’t really have social skills being able to connect with their peers. That is just so cool because then, you see in the hallways that they’re saying hello and just loving life. It’s so cool, because I know a few kids who’ve been kind of sad, and now I see them smiling all the time,” Haberling said.

   Becoming a best buddy can change anybody. Anybody can become a buddy through this program. Meetings are on Tuesdays, every other week.

   “I think anybody that is open minded, kind, patient, compassionate [can be a buddy]. I think most of the kids here that are buddies, I don’t think they’re doing it for a college resume or anything like that, I really feel like they’re all here because they want to, which I think is pretty cool. Not because this will look good on a piece of paper,” Ms. Jackie Holden, Specialty, said.