Ben and Bennett are students at St. Anthony Middle School where they were matched in a one-to-one friendship through their school’s Best Buddies chapter in 2023. While they met through the Best Buddies program, their friendship has gone beyond the school environment and they often get together after school and on the weekends. Some of their favorite things to do are play video games, hang out with their dogs, and attend chapter events together. Their chapter advisor, Corey Hughes, is a Special Education teacher at St. Anthony Middle School who started her own journey with Best Buddies when she was in middle school and has seen the positive impact firsthand, which led her to continue her involvement into adulthood.

Best Buddies Middle Schools fosters one-to-one friendships between middle school students with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), in which they share interests, experiences, and activities. Students with IDD are often isolated and left out of social activities. Best Buddies Middle Schools helps to create an inclusive middle school culture for all students early on in their educational development.