Rachael Fischer is a skier, a storyteller, and a state director with a mission. The Indiana native now leads Best Buddies in Colorado, part of a global nonprofit born from the Kennedy-Shriver legacy, that’s redefining inclusion for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Liam Haskill, 17, started the Best Buddies chapter at Rock Island High School at the beginning of the school year, to pair students with disabilities up with a peer buddy.

There are simple things we need to live full lives. One of them is friendship. Not just the friendships that last passing the halls at your company, but the kind of friendships where people show up for each other, regardless of what you are going through.