{"id":163334,"date":"2022-04-12T16:42:51","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T20:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/?p=163334"},"modified":"2022-04-12T16:42:51","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T20:42:51","slug":"meet-alli-and-lizzie-2-2-2-3-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/maine\/press-herald-article-2021","title":{"rendered":"“Society Notebook: Best Buddies forges new friendships all over Maine”"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”163335″ img_size=”full”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]By Amy Paradysz for PressHerald.com
\nPosted November 28, 2021<\/p>\n

Scott Kent, a father who is deeply grateful that his son with autism has someone who will sit with him at lunch or play basketball, raised $36,855 for the Best Buddies organization in Maine.<\/p>\n

\u201cKids with special needs have a hard time connecting with friends,\u201d said Kent, who was named Champion of the Year at the Best Buddies Gala on Oct. 22 at Thompson\u2019s Point. \u201cWhen our son, Kason, was diagnosed with autism, my wife and I had two options. Stay in Fort Kent, where there are no services at all. Or look elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Kents moved to Cumberland, where Best Buddies, the world\u2019s largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, sprang up in Maine in 2019. Each chapter, whether it is at a college, high school, middle school, elementary school or in the community, pairs people with and without disabilities. The goal is pretty simple: friendship.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose of you who were here two years ago, a lot has changed with Best Buddies,\u201d said Rebecca Williams, director of mission advancement. \u201cWe had two fledgling chapters in 2019. We now have 16 chapters, from Biddeford to Bangor. And I\u2019m promising 21 chapters by the end of 2021.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/i>READ MORE<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Best Buddies featured in PressHerald.com!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":163335,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"me-single-post.php","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1601],"tags":[4531],"yoast_head":"\n"Society Notebook: Best Buddies forges new friendships all over Maine" - Best Buddies International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/maine\/press-herald-article-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Society Notebook: Best Buddies forges new friendships all over Maine" - Best Buddies International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Best Buddies featured in PressHerald.com!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/maine\/press-herald-article-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Best Buddies International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-04-12T20:42:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/2021-bbme-article.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1198\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"626\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"jeremiah\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"jeremiah\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/maine\/press-herald-article-2021\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/maine\/press-herald-article-2021\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"jeremiah\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/#\/schema\/person\/8dce929426db178a0f482077614820de\"},\"headline\":\"“Society Notebook: Best Buddies forges new friendships all over Maine”\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-12T20:42:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-04-12T20:42:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/maine\/press-herald-article-2021\/\"},\"wordCount\":278,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/maine\/press-herald-article-2021\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/2021-bbme-article.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"maine news\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Maine News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/maine\/press-herald-article-2021\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/maine\/press-herald-article-2021\/\",\"name\":\"\\\"Society Notebook: Best Buddies forges new friendships all over Maine\\\" - 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