The past two weekends have held lots of excitement for Best Buddies Indiana: the 2017 annual Friendship Ball, and the 2017 Champion of the Year wrap-up, Party with a Purpose. Read on for a recap of each of these exciting events!

This year’s Friendship Ball, hosted by Warren Central High School, saw over 400 participants from School Friendship programs across Indiana come together to celebrate their friendships. With the theme “Friendship is Sweet” the 2017 Friendship Ball featured lots of sweet treats, including dancing, a photo station, crafts, and lots of delicious food that included generous donations from Gigi’s Cupcakes and Edible Arrangements.

Students could also opt to donate canned goods to Gleaner’s Food Bank to receive a raffle ticket entry to win a “Buddy Night Out”—congratulations to Damon from Perry Meridian High School on winning this raffle! Thanks to everyone who made this sweet event a success.

At the Champion of the Year Party with a Purpose, Best Buddies Indiana was excited to award the 2017 Champion of the Year title to Emily Decker!

Throughout the eight-week fundraising competition, Emily and campaign manager Kylene Webber, along with the six other candidates, hosted a variety of fundraising events at various restaurants and businesses across Indianapolis. The other candidates included: First runner-up Matt Quoss with campaign managers Andrew Herran and Angie Cain; second runner-up Amee Wildey with campaign manager Mary McClamroch; Shannon Eaves with campaign manager Sarah Strouse; Mariah Weddle with campaign manager JJ Kubancsek; Scott Long with campaign managers Maddie Long and Ned Russell-Sullivan; and Rebecca Bream with campaign manager Zach Curtis.

The combined efforts of these individuals made for the most successful Champion of the Year to date for Best Buddies Indiana—the passion, drive, and creativity of all of the Champion candidates truly helped make this initiative a successful one.