{"id":174070,"date":"2023-08-15T10:09:18","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T14:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/?p=174070"},"modified":"2023-08-16T09:30:33","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T13:30:33","slug":"back-to-school-with-connie-mehlman-20-years-of-impactful-volunteering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2023\/08\/15\/connie-mehlman-20-years-of-impactful-volunteering","title":{"rendered":"Back to School with Connie Mehlman: 20 Years of Impactful Volunteering"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”174071″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Zimbabwe seems like the last place on Earth where this year\u2019s Best Buddies Advisor of the Year would have started her 20-year Best Buddies journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the late 1980s, I was a Special Olympics coach,\u201d Connie Mehlman recalled. \u201cI had gone to a friend\u2019s wedding in Zimbabwe, and when I was there, I got myself invited to the Zimbabwe Special Olympics. When I came home, I wrote Eunice Shriver (Anthony Kennedy-Shriver\u2019s mom) a letter, and she got back to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She then received a phone call that, while she did not realize it then, would change her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cYears later, a student from Miami (Ohio) University called me and said, \u2018I was told if we wanted to start Best Buddies on campus, you would be the one to reach out to,\u2019\u201d Mehlman, who recently retired after 28 years of working for the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities, continued. \u201cWhen I saw that Best Buddies had the Shriver name attached, I knew it would be a good program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Twenty years later, it was clear that both she and the student were right.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve loved every minute,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Mehlman started the Friendship chapter at Miami University in 2003 and has been its advisor since its inception. Over the last two decades, the chapter has had more than 3,300 members and has created over 885 one-to-one friendships.<\/p>\n

Mehlman did a bit of everything as an advisor: she recruited individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), identified promising students and taught them how to be chapter leaders, planned school- and community-based events and managed fundraising efforts.<\/p>\n

“I like being involved, but I was probably a little over-involved in the beginning,\u201d she mentioned with a laugh.<\/p>\n

Mehlman truly understood the scope of her work when a former student, who was paired in a one-to-one friendship with a man with Downs syndrome, told her he was having a child with the same condition.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was able to see all the possibilities for his son,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause of his participation in my chapter, he was not afraid of having a child with Downs syndrome.\u201d<\/p>\n

The impact that Mehlman, and many other advisors like her, have on students clearly transcends their time in school. For example, Jenny Allen, a former student of Melhman\u2019s, now works as the senior director for international programs at Best Buddies.<\/p>\n

\u201cConnie is so supportive and dedicated to the Best Buddies mission,\u201d Allen said. \u201cSeeing her dedication motivated me \u2013 she and I have stayed in touch for the last 17 years, and I feel so grateful to continue working with her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently, Mehlman serves as the chair for Best Buddies in Ohio\u2019s advisory board. Mehlman is also in a one-to-one friendship with her buddy Mandy as a member of the Butler County Citizens program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world is a better place for people with IDD because Connie is in it,\u201d Catlin Skufca, Best Buddies in Ohio\u2019s state director, said. \u201cShe has inspired countless leaders to make an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a new school year quickly approaching, Mehlman believes everyone has a place and a purpose within their school\u2019s Friendship chapter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether you are in elementary school or college, Best Buddies will be one of the most welcoming groups you join,\u201d Mehlman promised. \u201cBy joining your school\u2019s chapter, you can impact a life, and to make real change, that is all it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, Mehlman has one request for those who do not have a Friendship chapter at their school: \u201cStart one.<\/strong>\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Connie Mehlman, Award-Winning Advisor, Shares Her Story<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2080,"featured_media":174072,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,819,4485,514],"tags":[4583,4445,4584,4585],"yoast_head":"\nBack to School with Connie Mehlman: 20 Years of Impactful Volunteering - 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\/2023\/08\/15\/connie-mehlman-20-years-of-impactful-volunteering\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Back to School with Connie Mehlman: 20 Years of Impactful Volunteering - Best Buddies International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Connie Mehlman, Award-Winning Advisor, Shares Her Story\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2023\/08\/15\/connie-mehlman-20-years-of-impactful-volunteering\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Best Buddies International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-15T14:09:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-16T13:30:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Connie-Mehlman-20-years-of-impactful-volunteering.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"leemosler\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"leemosler\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2023\/08\/15\/connie-mehlman-20-years-of-impactful-volunteering\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2023\/08\/15\/connie-mehlman-20-years-of-impactful-volunteering\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"leemosler\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/#\/schema\/person\/e016e3c8c2cd3b7e04adf72b23efb560\"},\"headline\":\"Back to School with Connie Mehlman: 20 Years of Impactful Volunteering\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-15T14:09:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-16T13:30:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2023\/08\/15\/connie-mehlman-20-years-of-impactful-volunteering\/\"},\"wordCount\":615,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2023\/08\/15\/connie-mehlman-20-years-of-impactful-volunteering\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Connie-Mehlman-20-years-of-impactful-volunteering.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Advisor\",\"award\",\"Best Buddies in Ohio\",\"volunteer\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"News Front Page\",\"News Sidebar\",\"Ohio News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2023\/08\/15\/connie-mehlman-20-years-of-impactful-volunteering\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2023\/08\/15\/connie-mehlman-20-years-of-impactful-volunteering\/\",\"name\":\"Back to School with Connie Mehlman: 20 Years of Impactful Volunteering - 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