| It’s been a busy fall here for us at Best Buddies Minnesota! Our school chapters are back together making friendships and hosting events. We’ve hosted several Twin Cities Citizens gatherings and are getting ready for our 4th Annual Champion of the Year gala that celebrates friendship and inclusion for all.
Check out what we’ve been up to and what exciting opportunities we have coming up that you can be part of. Happy Fall, friends!
Program Updates
School Chapters
As we settle into a new school year with new chapters all over the Twin Cities, all of our chapters have hosted their first event and many have started making matches! If you have not registered for your chapter online, be sure to do so at bestbuddies.org/join.
Farmington High School students (pictured above) kicked off the return to school with a party featuring plenty of Nothing Bundt Cakes to go around, generously donated from Nothing Bundt Cakes in Minnetonka.
Best Buddies Ambassadors
We just finished a three-part ambassador training series focusing on crafting your story, understanding advocacy, and connecting to the mission. Participants wrote personal mission statements that they would use to create a speech in the spring.
Ambassador Kaitlyn Peterson and her best friend since middle school, Grace Heywood (pictured above), spoke to a group of parents representing Lakeville Area Schools with hopes of opening chapters across the district.
Best Buddies Citizens
With our return to monthly events, Citizens participants have enjoyed a party in the park, skyline mini golf, an apple orchard, and a Halloween mocktail happy hour. If you know any adults in the Twin Cities area looking to get involved, sign up below!
Virtual Events
We will be hosting virtual events again, starting at the end of the month! Keep an eye out for more information coming soon, and click here to get on the list to receive Zoom links to each event.
Champion of the Year Gala
The Champion of the Year Gala is SOLD OUT, but you can still make a donation to support our Champion Candidates and bid in the auction from anywhere. Look for another email with auction information next week, and be sure to watch the Facebook livestream of the Grand Champion announcement on Friday, November 19th at 9:40 pm.
Disability Awareness: Did You Know?
October was National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). The theme for NDEAM 2021, “America’s Recovery: Powered by Inclusion,” reflects the importance of ensuring that people with disabilities have full access to employment and community involvement during the national recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Currently, 81% of adults with IDD do not have a paid job in the community. In the coming years, Best Buddies Minnesota plans to bring the Best Buddies Job’s program to the state to ensure that Minnesotans with IDD have the opportunity to earn an income and contribute their many talents to our workforce.
Best Buddies Jobs participants worldwide add significant value to the workforce, including offering diverse perspectives for organizational success and fast-tracking progress towards equitable and sustainable development.
Friendship Forum
Friendship Tip of the Day
A new Best Buddies school year means new friends! Getting to know new friends can be challenging at first, but here are a few tips we think might help.
- Be authentic: let them get to know the real you.
- Be patient: getting to know new friends takes time.
- Be open-minded: you may not have things in common right away, but if you keep an open mind, you may find new interests as you get to know your new friend.
Buddy Spotlights
Two students from Delano high school get to know each other at the chapter’s first event of the year – a trip to an apple orchard!
New friends from the Best Buddies chapter at the University of Minnesota enjoy the weather at the chapter’s ice cream social.
Save the Date
Give to the Max Day
Thursday, November 18th
Give to the Max Day is back! Organized by GiveMN, Give to the Max Day is Minnesota’s giving holiday. It is a statewide outpouring of support for thousands of nonprofits and schools across Minnesota and a special chance for you to donate to causes and organizations that mean the most to you, like Best Buddies Minnesota.
Do you believe in the power of inclusion? You can support our life-changing work with a donation to Best Buddies Minnesota at givemn.org.
Best Buddies Minnesota in the News
Twin Cities Team Partake Best Buddies Fundraising Competition
Check out this awesome feature about Jennifer and Martin, two contenders for this year’s Grand Champion award that will be announced at our gala on November 19th.
Stay Connected
Be sure to follow us on Instagram and like us on Facebook to stay up to date with our virtual activities, Friendship Walk announcements, and more!
Friendship Fridays: Tag @bestbuddiesmn on social media with your favorite pictures of you and your buddies. We want to feature you on our state’s social media pages! |
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