This web post was created to provide resources and keep the Best Buddies in the Rochester community informed about the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its impact.
Western New York held its first every Holiday Gratitude Gathering at the ROC Holiday Village on December 10th.
MOD Super Fast Pizza Holdings, LLC (“MOD Pizza”, “MOD” or the “Company”), a purpose-led fast-casual pizza brand, today announced a nationwide partnership with Best Buddies International (“Best Buddies”)…
Western New Yorks Champion of the Year had an amazing Kick off Party at Record Archive on September 5th. Over 150 people came out to support the 13 champion teams competing to raise money for Western NY Best Buddies!
This past Spring, Best Buddies New York hosted their Best Buddies Friendship Walks in Binghamton, Buffalo, and Rochester. Proceeds raised at the walks help Best Buddies New York by funding local programs.
The New York City Outer Space Friendship Ball 2019 was held at Riverdale Highschool. Our buddy pairs attend in their favorite outer space costumes and danced the night away to show their support for Best Buddies.
The Long Island Masquerade Friendship Ball 2019 was held at Longwood High School. Our buddy pairs attended in their favorite masks and danced the night away to show their support for Best Buddies.
On Saturday, March 16, 2019, Western New York Hosted their third annual Best buddies friendship ball of inclusion. Over 250 students came played games, made new friends and danced the night away!
On March 20, 2019, Best Buddies partnered with the Rochester Police Department to hold a press conference for Spread the Word Inclusion.
On Thursday, March 14th over 25 citizen participants and buddy pairs came to La Pittura Studio to paint beautiful pictures of the New York skyline.
On March 6th, Best Buddies participants attended a Career Development Day hosted by Google for Education.
“In my short time I’ve been involved in Best Buddies it has completely transformed me. I was making new friends, having a more optimistic view on life and all students involved are benefiting from the program…”
At work, Terence manages his own checklist and strives to complete each task by the end of the day. He takes great pride in maintaining focus and accomplishing his tasks accurately…
“What makes Best Buddies so special is that peer buddies like Mark Mossman are people who choose to be involved. They want to make a difference….”
Interested in helping to end the use of the R-word? Join the statewide committee.
For the second year in a row, Best Buddies Rochester has hosted their Champion of the Year competition and celebrated with their “Party with a Purpose! On November 15, 10 Champions were celebrated for helping to raise over $47,000 for Inclusion.
Best Buddies New York Leadership Trainings were held in our Long Island and New York City Regions for 75 high school and college students. Throughout the trainings, our student leaders were active participants in discussions about the three pillars of Best Buddies and how they support our mission.
This past June, ten Best Buddies participants from the NYC Citizens and Jobs Programs spoke on a panel about their careers to high school students from Mamaroneck High School.
On October 20th over 60 Best Buddies participants and their family’s got together at Wickham farms for a day of fun!
In September we had our first area-wide event for Best Buddies New York to celebrate Eunice Kennedy Shriver and her legacy of kindness.
Love Hockey? Volunteer to help with Rochester Special Hockey! The season kicks off October 21st at 4:30 PM at Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex in Rochester, NY
We didn’t think North Rockland HS Project LIFE/Best Buddies could top last year’s song/video but the #RWordStomp2018 may be their best yet! This is the third song/video that NRHS Best Buddies has released to Spread the Word to End the Word…
On Tuesday, August 22, 60 high school student leaders from New York’s Capital Region attended our annual Best Buddies Local Leadership Training Day. We also held a college Local Leadership Training for 15 college student leaders on Saturday, September 9.
The 28th Annual Best Buddies Leadership Conference had over 2,300+ students around the world, including over 120 people from New York, come together for a weekend in July to learn more about leadership, inclusion, and advocacy.
On Sunday, March 12, 2017 Riverdale Country High School came together to host their 5th Annual Best Buddies Friendship Ball. Over 200 participants from high school and college chapters in the New York metro area came together to enjoy an afternoon of fun festivities, food, dancing and friendship.
This extraordinary story starts when Jimmy told his friend Jennifer that he wanted to run a 5k with friends. The result established an outlet for Jimmy to get into shape, all while showing the community what people with intellectual disabilities are able to accomplish when given the chance.
North Rockland High School Best Buddies Promoters Club is proud to present the #RWordStomp2017. Respectful and inclusive language is essential to the movement for the dignity and humanity of people with intellectual disabilities. However, much of society does not recognize the hurtful, dehumanizing and exclusive effects of the R-word.
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.
On October 1, a Local Leadership Training Day was held for our college chapter officer corps. Those schools now include Siena, St. Rose, Union, Marist, UAlbany, HVCC, Plattsburgh, and Skidmore.
We had a great turnout at our Yoga Fundraiser on Saturday, October 15 at Dharma Yoga in NYC. All proceeds went to our NYC Friendship Walk. Some incredible supporters came together to raise money, celebrate friendship, and practice yoga together.
On Friday, September 16, the staff members from our Albany office attended the NYSARC Recreation Conference in Lake George, New York. Our Program Manager, Sam Hershberger, had the privilege of presenting about our new Citizens Program to 40 service providers from across New York State.
Our new Rochester Area Director, Bonnie is a seasoned fundraising professional who also brings with her experience in volunteer leadership development and strong organizational and strategic planning skills. Most recently, Bonnie was the Executive Director for the Western NY District of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and in previous positions has worked for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the American Heart Association.
On Saturday, September 17, Anthony K. Shriver and his best buddy Jorge Morilla were interviewed live on the 5th annual American Graduate Day on PBS! American Graduate Day featured leading education, media and celebrity figures highlighting the role of mentoring to help close the graduation gap, share inspirational stories from across the nation, and encourage others to connect with students as a mentor.
Nicole Burch, Albany’s Area Director, went on NewsChannel 13 to talk with Phil Bayly about the impact of Best Buddies.
This past July marked our 27th annual Best Buddies Leadership Conference, where nearly 2,300 participates from around the world came to Indiana to learn how to effectively spread the mission of social inclusion for individuals with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities.
On Sunday, July 17, the New York City Citizens braved the summer heat to attend a “Meet and Greet” picnic at Bryant Park. We brought together our Cooperate Citizens Chapters and the NYC Citizens. With lots of snacks, laughter, and new faces, a good time was had by all 40 who attended!
Long Island’s two Ambassador Trainings were full of inspiration, incredible stories and amazing accomplishments. The program offers people with IDD the opportunity to gain the public speaking skills, self-esteem and confidence needed to successfully advocate for themselves, their peers and Best Buddies in communities, workplaces and government.
On Friday, February 5th, more than 400 Best Buddies participants from middle schools, high schools and colleges in Upstate New York attended the annual Friendship Ball at the Holiday Inn Express and Suites, Latham. Best Buddies’ mission of social inclusion and friendship was evident throughout the night with countless hugs, selfies and conga lines.
On Saturday, January 30th, a team of Best Buddies Citizens participants joined forces with an alumni group from Stanford University for a local community volunteer project. More than 20 volunteers gathered at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on the Upper East Side to construct nearly 100 birthday cards for home bound seniors in NYC.
Over 30 of our Long Island participants gathered to regroup & re-energize for the second half of the school year. With multiple events coming up in the next few months,Back to Best Buddies Night was a chance to refocus on the mission and goals for finishing the school year on a high note.
This year, our annual Speech Writing and Public Speaking Ambassador Training was held in conjunction with a Conversational Advocacy Training geared toward the Friendship Walk. On November 11th at The Beverwyck in Albany, nine middle school, high school and college students participated in the speech writing/public speaking portion, learning the vital skills needed to create and present a speech geared toward their experiences and growth in Best Buddies.
Our chapter president from Long Island’s Shoreham-Wading River High School, Mary Steinbrecher, was recently sworn in as a student representative and nonvoting member of the district’s board of education. Mary’s role will provide student prospective on the district’s special education program, anti-program, and overall policy initiatives. Mary, now a senior, […]
On September 26th, Best Buddies Citizens participants from across NYC gathered in Brooklyn Bridge Park for the Brooklyn Americana Music Festival, which presented original and traditional country, folk, roots, blues, old time and bluegrass artists.
Ellen is a wonderful advocate and strong leader for those with IDD. Through Best Buddies, Ellen became an ambassador and learned how to be a self-advocate and speak up for the IDD community at conferences, trainings and the Best Buddies New York Carnegie Hall event. Ellen’s ability to communicate the significance of the program is one of her greatest skills and she has inspired many to support Best Buddies New York.
Liana and Lea are a buddy pair from Saratoga Springs High School, which opened in the spring of 2014. Since being paired in February, their friendship has grown tremendously and has served as an inspiration to all of those involved with Best Buddies. Their story of inclusion and friendship made […]