Meet Ashley
Ashley had been a member of the Best Buddies Friendship program for four years when she decided to attend one of our Leadership Development trainings. She attended a session about being a self-advocate, worked on these skills, and wrote a speech about how Best Buddies has impacted her life. Here is a video of Ashley’s speech:
Friendship is the foundation of Best Buddies. It is how Anthony Shriver, our founder, started spreading the word that our friends with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) should be included in our communities. During the course of 31 years, we realized that inclusion means much more. That is why there are four mission pillars to work towards our goal of full inclusion of people with IDD. These pillars are: Friendship, Leadership Development, Jobs & Living.
Ashley is one of 175 people in Ohio that Best Buddies has trained in our Leadership Development program. This year, we have switched these trainings to virtual platforms and continue to make sure that people who want to be heard can work on self-advocacy skills. We believe full inclusion will happen one day, but we need your support to make that a reality. Together, we create inclusive communities. We are counting on your support to continue elevating these voices.