Want to get involved with people who have special needs? Then ASU's chapter of Best Buddies might be the place for you. Best Buddies focuses on developing one-on-one friendships for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. ASU’s chapter partners with the Arc of Tempe to match college students with disabled adults.
The club has about 80 members and has been a part of ASU for about six years. ASU’s chapter has also been named chapter of the year for the past three years. Chapter president and junior special education major Nicole Paxton said the club is all about inclusion, acceptance and respect.
“I’ve got a great passion for this,” she said. “Once you work around (people with disabilities), they will probably never let go of your heart, and you don’t really want to leave.”
She said there aren’t very many adult programs in this area for people with disabilities. Offering a program like Best Buddies gives these adults a chance to get out in the community and interact with others.
“A lot of them have been talked down to, and all they want is to be treated like adults,” she said. “Being included and not feeling like you’re less than someone else — I think that’s the biggest thing for them.
Paxton said she’s gained an immense understanding, awareness and love for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities through Best Buddies and hopes to become a college professor in special education.
The students of the club, called peer buddies, must contact their buddies at least once a week and meet with them at least two times a month. However, Paxton said most of them go above and beyond. Buddies interact at chapter events as well as go out for activities like sporting events, shopping, getting lunch and more.
Psychology junior Alissa Brennan plays Tic-Tac-Toe with Michael Blaylock at a Best Buddies chapter event Tuesday Feb. 11, 2015 at the Memorial Union in Tempe. (Bridget Dowd/The State Press)Club member and peer buddy Juliana Noonan, a junior family and human development major, said this is her first year with the program. In just a short period of time, the club has opened many doors for her.
“It’s so uninhibited,” Noonan said. “I’ve done things with best buddies that I’d normally be too shy to do on my own. It’s really fulfilling.”
On Feb. 21, ASU’s chapter will be participating in a statewide friendship walk at Kiwanis Park in Tempe, which is open to chapters across Arizona and attracts thousands of people each year.
Ashley Garbacz, a senior civil engineering major, serves as event coordinator for ASU’s chapter of Best Buddies and has been her entire college career. She said she found Best Buddies her freshman year and adored it right away.
“I went to a meeting and just loved it,” Garbacz said. “(I love) the atmosphere and the friendship. Most clubs don’t pride themselves on making friends.”
Best Buddies meets every third Tuesday of the month and has chapter events every second Tuesday of the month.
To apply to be a peer buddy, look for Best Buddies at orgsync.com. To join or get more information, visit facebook.com/BestBuddiesASU or email Nicole Paxton at nicole.paxton@asu.edu.
Reach the reporter at bridget.dowd@asu.edu or follow @bridgetbernice on Twitter.
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