Bloomington, Ind. (July 16, 2009) - Summer vacation will be a lot more meaningful for 700 student volunteers committed to leading chapters of Best Buddies on their campuses, as they will participate in Best Buddies International’s 20th Annual Student Leadership Conference July 24-27 at Indiana University in Bloomington, portions of which will be streamed live on our Website (www.bestbuddies.org/webstream) for the first time.

Best Buddies is a nonprofit organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

This year’s Conference, which has a “We are Best Buddies” theme in honor of the organization’s 20th anniversary, will bring together student leaders from high school and college Best Buddies chapters around the world. These students will receive leadership training and discuss such topics as social inclusion, advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities, and volunteer management. In addition, motivational speakers, including Soeren Palumbo and C. Kevin Wanzer, will prepare the students for an exciting year ahead as chapter presidents.

Highlights of this year’s Leadership Conference open to the media include:

Friday, July 24:

• Opening Ceremonies (8 p.m.-10 p.m., Indiana University’s Auditorium): Best Buddies International will kick off the Conference with a series of speakers that are making an impact in our movement to create mutually enriching one-to-one friendships. The ceremonies will include an international procession of our programs along with a runway display of our fall fashion merchandise to support the mission.

Saturday, July 25

• Outstanding Chapter Awards (7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m., Indiana University’s Auditorium). Exceptional Best Buddies chapters will be honored and our founder and chairman, Anthony Kennedy Shriver will offer his keynote remarks regarding the vision and future of Best Buddies.

Sunday, July 26

·         20th Anniversary Celebration (7 p.m.-10:30 p.m., Indiana Memorial Union Alumni Hall). Our participants will celebrate 20 years of outstanding friendships and programs to support people with intellectual disabilities on this evening.  The event will be an 80’s theme and many of our participants will have the opportunity to speak and celebrate the founding of Best Buddies.