Friendship Friday: Tiffany and Brooklynn

Westlake, OH, March 1, 2024 — When a Best Buddies Friendship chapter came to Edgewood High School in Ohio last fall, it changed the lives of Tiffany Schatzle and Brooklynn Bowers.

When Tiffany heard what Best Buddies International, a nonprofit dedicated to creating opportunities for friendship, employment, leadership development and inclusive living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), was about, she didn’t hesitate to get involved.

Tiffany had already been living the Best Buddies mission of inclusion, having sat with her friends with IDD at lunch all her freshman year. When Best Buddies opened a chapter at her school, she looked forward to inspiring more of her classmates to include students with IDD.

Brooklynn, who is deaf, was one of those classmates. She communicates with her classmates mostly through an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter, making it more challenging to form one-to-one friendships with her peers.

Tiffany, as it so happens, had been learning ASL. Showing her dedication to inclusion, and after being matched with Brooklynn in a one-to-one friendship, she put the ASL she had been learning to use to create a better friendship with Brooklynn.

“Having friends at school who care about you makes all the difference in the world,” Tiffany said. “I can go into the school and be down, or just be having a bad day, but seeing Brooklynn always brightens up my day. She is a total sweetheart, and my life is better because she is in it.”

Brooklynn and Tiffany enjoy playing thumb war, talking in the hallway, drawing pictures and making Christmas cards together. They even attended the Edgewood High School Day Prom and their local Best Buddies Friendship Walk together with their chapter.

“Tiffany is a great friend because she is fun, funny and she knows sign language,” Brooklynn said.

Tiffany’s and Brooklynn’s dedication to bridging their communication gap has acted as a catalyst for widespread change around Edgewood High School. Because of these two, other participants within their Best Buddies program began learning ASL, and teachers at the school have begun using ASL during class.

Brooklynn and Tiffany’s friendship shows the impact that Best Buddies can have on a local community.

“Not only can you make new friends, but you can also learn more about yourself and who you want to be,” Tiffany said of Best Buddies. “There’s a lot we can learn from others, and these friendships can help inspire growth and create everlasting bonds that are irreplaceable.”

About Best Buddies
Best Buddies^® is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, inclusive living, and family support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Founded in 1989 by Anthony K. Shriver, Best Buddies is a vibrant organization that has grown from one original chapter to nearly 3,000 middle school, high school, and college chapters worldwide. Today, Best Buddies’ 12 formal programs — Elementary Schools, Middle Schools, High Schools, Colleges, Citizens, e-Buddies®, Jobs, Ambassadors, Promoters, Transitions, Inclusive Living and Eunie’s Buddies— engage participants in each of the 50 states and in 45 countries, positively impacting the lives of nearly one million people with and without disabilities around the world. In many cases, as a result of their involvement with Best Buddies, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities secure rewarding jobs, live on their own, become inspirational leaders, and make lifelong friendships. For more information, please visit bestbuddies.org or connect with us via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.