{"id":178172,"date":"2024-02-23T10:15:05","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T15:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/?p=178172"},"modified":"2024-02-23T10:15:56","modified_gmt":"2024-02-23T15:15:56","slug":"friendship-friday-maggie-and-lauren","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2024\/02\/23\/friendship-friday-maggie-and-lauren\/","title":{"rendered":"Friendship Friday: Maggie and Lauren"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”178174″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text]Bedford, NH, Feb. 23, 2024<\/strong> \u2014 Friendships, like the one between Maggie Lemay<\/strong> and Lauren Hoepp<\/strong>, can change lives.<\/p>\n

The duo met through Best Buddies Citizens<\/strong> in New Hampshire<\/strong>, a one-to-one friendship program for adults ran by Best Buddies International,<\/strong> a nonprofit dedicated to creating opportunities for friendship, employment, leadership development and inclusive living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).<\/p>\n

Since being paired in the program in 2022, their friendship has only blossomed. Together, they love to talk over FaceTime, get Starbucks on the weekends, have slumber parties and support each other in beauty pageants.<\/p>\n

For Lauren, Maggie has been a \u201cbest friend.\u201d Prior to being involved in Best Buddies, Lauren was bullied, had few friends and faced the social isolation that many people with IDD endure.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaggie has really changed my life for the better,\u201d Lauren said. \u201cTo be matched with a buddy means the world to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maggie has benefited from her participation in Best Buddies in more ways than she originally imagined.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what surprised me was how much I needed [Lauren],\u201d Maggie said. \u201cShe\u2019s become the person that I do fun things with, that I share my worries and my joy with. She has been my best friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maggie and Lauren\u2019s friendship has been so inspirational that the two were recognized at New Hampshire\u2019s Best Buddies Champion of the Year Gala in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey go above and beyond for each other,\u201d Sara Anselmo, the deputy director of communications and stewardship for Best Buddies in New Hampshire, said. \u201cThey believe this friendship has changed their lives and their bond is a true joy to witness.\u201d<\/p>\n

To watch a video on Maggie and Lauren\u2019s amazing friendship, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About Best Buddies<\/u><\/strong>
\nBest Buddies\u00ae<\/sup> is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated\u202fto establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, inclusive living, and family support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Founded in 1989 by Anthony K. Shriver, Best Buddies is a vibrant organization that has grown from one original chapter to nearly 3,000 middle school, high school, and college chapters worldwide. Today, Best Buddies\u2019 12 formal programs \u2014 <\/span><\/span>Elementary Schools, Middle Schools, High Schools, Colleges, Citizens, e-Buddies\u00ae, Jobs, Ambassadors, Promoters, Transitions, Inclusive Living <\/span><\/span>and <\/span><\/span>Eunie\u2019s Buddies<\/span><\/span><\/em>\u2014 engage participants in<\/span><\/span>\u202f<\/span><\/span>each of the 50 states and in 45<\/span><\/span>\u202f<\/span><\/span>countries, positively <\/span>impacting<\/span> the lives of <\/span>nearly one<\/span> million people with and without disabilities around the world.<\/span><\/span> In many cases, as a result of their involvement with Best Buddies, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities secure rewarding jobs, live on their own, become inspirational leaders, and make lifelong friendships. For more information, please visit bestbuddies.org or connect with us via Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a> or Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Media Inquiries<\/u><\/strong>
\nBest Buddies International<\/strong>
\nNicole Maddox<\/strong>
\nVice President, Communications
\nNicoleMaddox@Bestbuddies.org<\/a><\/p>\n<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Friendships, like the one between Maggie Lemay and Lauren Hoepp, can change lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2081,"featured_media":178174,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[4635,4655],"yoast_head":"\nFriendship Friday: Maggie and Lauren - Best Buddies International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Friendships, like the one between Maggie Lemay and Lauren Hoepp, can change lives.\" \/>\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\/2024\/02\/23\/friendship-friday-maggie-and-lauren\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Friendship Friday: Maggie and Lauren - Best Buddies International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Friendships, like the one between Maggie Lemay and Lauren Hoepp, can change lives.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2024\/02\/23\/friendship-friday-maggie-and-lauren\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Best Buddies International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-23T15:15:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-23T15:15:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/23Gala-25-scaled.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jacob Pasternack\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jacob Pasternack\" \/>\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\/2024\/02\/23\/friendship-friday-maggie-and-lauren\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2024\/02\/23\/friendship-friday-maggie-and-lauren\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jacob Pasternack\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b937019a1ecd0f108dec02751d9d848e\"},\"headline\":\"Friendship Friday: Maggie and Lauren\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-23T15:15:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-23T15:15:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2024\/02\/23\/friendship-friday-maggie-and-lauren\/\"},\"wordCount\":325,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2024\/02\/23\/friendship-friday-maggie-and-lauren\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/23Gala-25-scaled.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"#FriendshipFriday\",\"Best Buddies in New Hampshire\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2024\/02\/23\/friendship-friday-maggie-and-lauren\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2024\/02\/23\/friendship-friday-maggie-and-lauren\/\",\"name\":\"Friendship Friday: Maggie and Lauren - 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