Viking Buddies is the heart of inclusion at Perkiomen Valley High School. What began as a small, passionate effort to create meaningful peer connections in the fall of 2021 has grown into the school’s official Best Buddies chapter and a community of 70+ student members. From its earliest days to the present, Viking Buddies has remained focused on one simple but powerful goal: creating genuine friendships between students with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities. Since then, Viking Buddies has become more than a club—it is a culture of belonging, where students grow as leaders, friendships extend beyond meetings, and inclusion is lived out every day.

Over several weeks, student leaders collaboratively planned and facilitated an inclusive community Bingo Night designed to promote social inclusion, student leadership, and community engagement. Club members worked together to select Bingo as an accessible activity, choose a date, and develop a comprehensive plan centered on accessibility, outreach, and meaningful participation for students with and without disabilities.

Students created a list of local businesses to contact and identified personal and family connections to support outreach efforts. They visited over 50 businesses in person to introduce themselves and share the Best Buddies mission, followed by consistent communication through email, phone calls, online donation request forms, and social media. Students coordinated donation pickups and maintained organized records of donated items.

Promotion included PVTV announcements, printed flyers, and a coordinated social media campaign using Facebook and Instagram (reels, stories, and posts). An Amazon Wishlist was created to allow families and friends to contribute concession items, basket fillers, decorations, and themed baskets at a variety of price points. One student leader organized all Wishlist donations using spreadsheets to track item values and donors, ensuring accurate recognition and follow-up.

Club members assembled themed raffle baskets across several evenings, estimating values and creating signage listing sponsors and basket contents. Accessibility planning was guided by the Best Buddies Event Accessibility Checklist and included open seating, clear visual access to screens, verbal reminders about noise levels, and the creation of a sensory room with clear signage and verbal directions shared during opening remarks. A snack stand was curated to account for allergies, dietary needs, and preferences.

The event included 10 standard Bingo rounds, 5 bonus rounds, and raffles for remaining baskets. Visual and verbal supports were embedded throughout the evening, including a microphone for the caller, printed rule sheets at each table, and visual/written guides for each round. A portable SmartBoard and four large screens displayed the round type, examples of winning cards, and all numbers called.

Students with and without disabilities worked together in meaningful roles including check-in, concessions, and event support, while others played Bingo alongside their Buddies. Movement breaks and door-prize raffles were incorporated to support engagement and regulation. Sponsoring businesses and families were recognized through basket signage, concession stand signs, and a large poster displaying all donor logos.

Following the event, club members created handwritten thank-you cards for all donating businesses and families and produced a highlight video celebrating the evening. The event successfully demonstrated inclusive planning, student leadership, and strong school-community partnerships while advancing the mission of social inclusion.

Quotes from Our Student Leaders:

“Inclusion Bingo was such an incredible night for Viking Buddies. Seeing our months of planning, organizing, and reaching out to businesses come together was so rewarding. This event showed how much passion and heart our leadership team truly has. I am so proud of the dedication everyone put into making this night special and inclusive for our school community. I can’t wait to see the positive impact we continue to make together.” – Alegra Evans, Communications/Secretary

“Bingo was a great night! Just what we needed! It was so fun!” – Bobby Batisto, Buddy Director