So our Best Buddies club has just finished up hosting their second event on campus.
I posted a photo stream of our first event here 🙂
I’ve shared about what Best Buddies was about here 🙂
But for those of you just tuning in it’s like this:
Best Buddies fosters inclusion and friendship by pairing typical kids with kids with IDD.
What’s the Best Buddies mission?
To establish a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
We do this through 8 different programs.
- Middle School
- High School
- College
- Promoters
- Citizens
- e-buddies
- Ambassadors
- Jobs
In DLSZ we start our buddies as young as Grade 7 and continue all the way through Fourth Year. I am really pleased with the way our Best Buddies Club in DLSZ has developed. Students who want to be paired up will make the commitment to be with their buddy for a whole school year. Together with Ms. Mau and Ms. Juay, we pair students up according to their interests.
The support from DLSZ has been incredible and often times, when I think about it…I get a little emotional. I can see that through the friendships the kids are forming now, with the support from the faculty, staff, and even Brother Bernie we are making the world a better place one friendship at a time.
Just check out these beautiful moments made possible by the magic of Best Buddies.
Thank you Mike and Millie from Lightworkz Photography for covering our event and always being so generous with your time and expertise.
When the students arrived, they registered, and were assigned a team color.
Thank you Gatorade for sponsoring our drinks and reusable water bottles!
Before we got started on the challenges, we asked each of the teams to complete the questionnaires to get to know their buddy better.
The DLSZ Best Buddies came up with questions that would help the Buddy pairs get to know one another better.
Station 1 Tasks the Buddies to find 3 printed Best Buddies Logos around the campus and take pictures together.
Challenge accepted and completed.
Station 2 has the Buddies complete a series of tasks together on the playground. Photo Credit: Best Buddies Manila FB page
Station 3 tasks the buddies to go Fishin’ for a Mission.
Buddies have to fish 5 magnetic fish out of the pool with their fishing poles and then put the Best Buddies Mission Statement in the correct order.
Station 4. Build a Buddy.
Challenge accepted and completed.
Station 5 challenges the kids to use a plastic spoon and fill up their cup with marbles.
Station 6 has the buddies revisit the questions that they answered earlier about each other by quizzing them on what they learned about their new friends.
Congratulations to Team Red for snagging First Place!
Congratulations to Team White for taking home 2nd Place!
Team Yellow took home 3rd Place.
Team Green took home 4th Place.
Team Blue completed all the challenges together closing out and collecting all six flags to clean up in 5th Place.
Congratulations to all of our Buddies who completed the Amazing Race!
Thank you to Planet Sports for sponsoring our FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD place prizes. Thank you to Gatorade for providing our drinks and refreshments during our challenges. Thank you to Ms. Chie of Zaide for always making sure our buddies are fed well after our activities.
Thank you Jack and Jill for providing the snacks for all the buddies to take home in their loot bags.
Thank you Mike from Lightworkz Photography for documenting our entire activity, and Millie from Not Your Ordinary Mum for all your help.
But more than that…Thank you to the entire guidance department for supporting our activities, putting them together creatively, and genuinely caring about the kids who we are bringing together for the awareness and inclusion of people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Thank you. Without all of your support, none of this would be possible. Namaste.
We had so much fun, Mish! Thanks again for inviting us. 🙂 I love Best Buddies!
Our Amazing Race event was such a success because you and Mike were there to help us out! Thank you Millie!!! xoxox
This was such an AMAZING DAY!!! We got to spend some time with the Best Buddies AND we got to spend some time together 🙂 Looking forward to getting together with you and Patty soon.