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By Alexandra Greacen, Program Supervisor, Best Buddies Tampa
Throwing parties seems to be a specialty of the Best Buddies chapter at the University of Florida. The chapter hosts lively activities each month, including a pirate themed Midnight Madness scavenger hunt, a salsa dance party, and a delicious Thanksgiving feast.
The chapter officers, along with College Buddy Director Amanda Chin, can be credited for setting up the numerous, successful activities but they prefer to give recognition to the many organizations that provided the chapter with assistance needed for these events. Several Greek organizations hosted Best Buddies events and provided refreshments for parties. They also invited the chapter to their annual community Halloween Party in the fall, which was a huge success and almost all 52 active Buddy Pairs attended. After learning about the mission of Best Buddies, the local Knights of Columbus chapter donated money to use in activities for the 2010-2011 school year.
During the chapter’s first meeting in August, Buddies set up an exciting schedule of activities. Since then, the chapter has taken trips to a local butterfly garden, enjoyed a festive luau, held the annual Diversity Dance, and visited Disney World. It is almost impossible to pick a favorite event! “We’re so fortunate,’’ adds Chin. She thanks each and every Buddy Pair for giving so much of their time to be part of the chapter. Getting together requires a bit of coordination from the College Buddies as they are not partnered with one host site. Instead, this chapter matched college students with individuals within the community. Despite the complications in arranging transportation, all of the matches still make time to see one another outside of chapter events. Following the summer break, Buddy Pairs were happy that the chapter continued its momentum to host incredibly festive events this fall. It has already been a great year for Best Buddies at the University of Florida, and there is no end in sight for all the fun!
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