Congratulations to the UNC chapter of Best Buddies, which received the Overall Outstanding College Chapter Award at this year’s Best Buddies International Leadership Conference in Bloomington, Indiana!
Best Buddies International is the world’s largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). UNC Best Buddies works towards this goal by pairing UNC students with members of the Chapel Hill community who have IDD. The Best Buddies mission is to facilitate and create lasting friendships between the college buddies and the community buddies through one-to-one meetings and regular group events. During the 2017-2018 school year, the committee organized a haunted house event, talent show, Valentine’s Day dance, student recreation day, Easter egg hunt, LinkedIn gala, Joy Prom, and more; the committee also spearheaded campus-wide disability awareness initiatives such as wheelchair basketball games and a weeklong “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign.
Tammy Medlock, the North Carolina Best Buddies State Director, was thrilled to receive news of the chapter’s recognition.
“This is such a huge honor for North Carolina. Our state office has only been open a little over a year so having our state recognized at the Best Buddies International Leadership Conference is amazing,” Medlock said. “Best Buddies at UNC is truly making Chapel Hill a better place to live by recognizing the incredible value of our friends with IDD!”
Watch the video below to learn more about the committee and its biggest event, Joy Prom, from UNC Best Buddies President Ashish Khanchandani.