Jack has had quite the year with Best Buddies Illinois. Jack joined Best Buddies High School program at Neuqua Valley in 2014 and has been part of the Friendship program ever since.
Topher Zheng has been a member of Best Buddies since he was in high school. He attended our Best Buddies Leadership Conference twice…
Jackie and Taylor are both high school students at Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora, Illinois. As anyone who has attended high school knows, finding a niche in the school community can, at first, seem difficult.
Jim is 17 and has been involved in Best Buddies for four years at Pekin Community High School. I want to tell you what a profound and positive impact Best Buddies has made on Jim and our entire family.
On November 3rd Best Buddies hosted a reception to honor long-time supporters, Jay and Colleen Doherty. The evening of celebration and increased awareness for the Best Buddies mission was fueled by a powerful speech given by Jobs Program participant, Taurean Ross.
What a difference a year makes! Just one year ago, Michael was a Buddy in his chapter at Augustana College, enjoying friendships and the chance to become trained as an Ambassador through the Best Buddies Ambassador program.
Students at Avoca West Elementary School in Glenview, Illinois will now know how incredible a Best Buddies made friendship can be.
In November, our Central Illinois office celebrated three years of growing the Best Buddies mission in the region!
I am more selfless because of Best Buddies, and I have so many life-long friends because of Best Buddies. In fact, one of the student leaders was a bridesmaid in my wedding. I love all of the buddies and college buddies.
Best Buddies Month is a time for Best Buddies participants to reflect on the importance of friendship, jobs, and the development of future leaders. Most importantly, it is a time to show the world the significance of these essentials in every individual’s life.
Ericka Doan is not only a Board Member for our Central Illinois office, she is also a Champion of the Year Nominee for our Champion of the Year campaign currently underway in Peoria. Ericka, a former Best Buddies participant in college, graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science, Communication Disorders and Sciences.
Coming off a previously challenging year, the 2015-2016 school year was different for our DePaul University chapter. Before the start of the school year, my Vice President (VP) and I attended the Best Buddies International Leadership Conference in July of 2015. We watched in awe at the Chapter of the Year awards being given out to chapters from around the world during the opening ceremony.
My buddy’s name is Emma. We met through the Best Buddies Citizens program. We have been Buddies for several years. One of our first outings was to see the Christmas Lights at the Brookfield Zoo. We went with the Best Buddies Citizens group and we had a great time. It was a good start to our friendship.
In June of this year, Best Buddies started what promises to be a long-term partnership with an up-scale grocery store, Heinen’s. Originated in Cleveland, Ohio in 1929, Heinen’s is a family-owned and operated store.
Courtney Hickman is the new Co-Chair of the Best Buddies Associate Board in Chicago. Courtney works alongside Co-Chair, Audrey Filipiak, and 15 young professionals to raise funds and awareness about Best Buddies. Courtney Graduated from Butler University with a Bachelor of Arts in Strategic Communications.
Natalie is a senior at Dunlap High School. This fall will be here fourth year in Dunlap’s Best Buddies school friendship program. Unlike many other students Natalie joined Best Buddies for a different reason. “I joined Best Buddies because of my younger brother. My brother has a disability and I wanted to be friends with people like him because he’s awesome.”
The Best Buddies Jobs program differentiates itself from other employment networks because of a model of full-lifecycle employment services for our participants and employers. Part of the lifecycle includes seeking opportunities for Jobs participants to grow professionally whether it is in the workplace or other outside opportunities.
On July 22nd, more than 100 participants from Best Buddies Illinois traveled to Bloomington, Indiana to join over 2,300 student leaders from around the world for the 27th Annual Best Buddies International Leadership Conference…
The Jobs staff from Best Buddies Illinois recently attended the Association of People Supporting EmploymentFirst (APSE) conference in Cincinnati, Ohio along with other Jobs staff from across the county. APSE aims to provide a space for like-minded people and organizations with similar values to discuss successes and challenges that are still very relevant in the community.
Advisors play a key role in helping lead our school-friendship chapters to success! They are classroom educators by day and leaders of change by night. In his first year as a faculty advisor at Belvidere North High School, Mr. McGill helped his chapter grow significantly by fostering 25 one-to-one friendship matches, engaging the associate (non-matched) members of the chapter in more activities, and helping develop and mentor his student officer board.
The first time that Chelsea and I hung out I was so nervous! What if she didn’t like hanging out with me? What if we didn’t have anything in common? When I first moved to Illinois I remember having these same exact thoughts when I began meeting new people.
A partnership is the association of two or more people. At Best Buddies, these associations are the heart of our mission each and every day. Just look at our school friendship programs. These programs operate in partnership with local schools and community host sites and involve the matching of two people in a one-to-one friendship.
Hiring people with intellectual and developmental disabilities isn’t just right, it’s good for business! Just ask Joe, a manager with Sodexo where one of our Jobs participants, Chris works. “He’s just a bundle of joy, always in a good mood and sharing his wisdom with the staff” says Joe.
If you are young professional interested in helping spread the mission of Best Buddies throughout the Greater Chicagoland Area, look no further than the Best Buddies Associate Board! This young professional’s group works to help spread the Best Buddies mission while providing year-round support to events for the Chicago office.
Jake and I have been matched for over three years. At this point I can’t imagine my life without him. He is one of the most genuine, kind hearted people I know and the world’s biggest social butterfly. There isn’t anyone Jake wouldn’t talk to. Some of our favorite activates involve going to any Chicago sports game or watching it at a sports bar, going to different fundraisers or parties together and touring Chicago to find the best burgers and pizza in the city.
If you are young professional interested in helping spread the mission of Best Buddies throughout the Greater Chicagoland Area, look no further than the Best Buddies Associate Board! This young professional’s group works to help spread the Best Buddies mission while providing year-round support to events for the Chicago office.
If you are young professional interested in helping spread the mission of Best Buddies throughout the Greater Chicagoland Area, look no further than the Best Buddies Associate Board! This young professional’s group works to help spread the Best Buddies mission while providing year-round support to events for the Chicago office.
If you are young professional interested in helping spread the mission of Best Buddies throughout the Greater Chicagoland Area, look no further than the Best Buddies Associate Board! This young professional’s group works to help spread the Best Buddies mission while providing year-round support to events for the Chicago office.
Participants, supporters and community members joined forces for a day of celebration, inclusion and fundraising at the 2016 Best Buddies Friendship Walk. Held on April 16 at Normal Community West High School in Central Illinois and on May 7 at Brookfield Zoo near Chicago, more than 1,500 walkers collectively worked to help Buddies […]
On Friday, April 29, Best Buddies Illinois (BBIL) and our Walter Payton College Preparatory High School chapter joined forces to host the sixth annual Best Buddies Prom, where Best Buddies participants from all over the city were able to enjoy a night of food, dancing and memory-making.
Malachi began his training as an Ambassador in February 2014 at Best Buddies Illinois’ beginner Ambassador workshop. Best Buddies Illinois staff recruited him into this program because of the leadership skills he exemplified as a buddy director at his high school. His skills as an Ambassador continued to improve through his […]
Danny has been employed by Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) as a clerical assistant for two years and he has made a lasting impact on the individuals he works with. Danny’s story of overcoming a low point in his life where his unemployment controlled his personality is inspiring. Best Buddies Illinois […]
Nicole and Lisa exemplify the mission of the Best Buddies Friendship program. Lisa was very shy when she first joined the program and would often hide to avoid social situations. After meeting Nicole, her confidence grew. Lisa is now a member of Nicole’s family and they are always laughing and having […]
The word “Ambassador” often brings to mind the image of international relations. We think of the people in the U.N., global diplomats, and delegates; who by representing the interests of their countries and communities, work toward social change. At Best Buddies Illinois, we want to make sure that the voices […]
“The way we talked about leadership in general and those quotes about leadership will stay with me forever. This training gave me a whole new perspective and I realized that this is much more than a college club but rather an opportunity to change lives.” As a pillar of the […]
A staggering 85% of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) do not have paid employment in their communities. Best Buddies Jobs, a thriving part of programming in Illinois, is working to change that. Historically, the primary employment opportunity for people with a variety of disabilities has been work in [...]
For 25 years, Best Buddies Illinois (BBIL) has served school based programs throughout Illinois. With an increased need to serve downstate programs, the first regional office was opened on November 17, 2014 in Central Illinois. Within the first five months of operation, the Peoria office achieved a number of significant […]
Leadership development is one of the pillars of the Best Buddies mission so every year, participants from around the world come together on the campus of Indiana University to experience the Best Buddies International Leadership Conference. This year’s conference theme, “I’m IN,” inspired more than 2,200 attendees from around the […]