BEST BUDDIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA HOSTS LEADERSHIP TRAINING DAY FOR CHAPTER LEADERS

GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA, September 2023 – Best Buddies in South Carolina is a state affiliate office of Best Buddies International (BBI), and recently hosted their annual Local Leadership Training Day for students throughout the state. BBI is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1989 by Anthony K. Shriver to establish a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Local Leadership Training Days are hosted by Best Buddies offices annually for chapter leaders (students) and advisors (teachers) from elementary schools all the way up to college programs on how to best run their Best Buddies chapter. Through the training, students share best practices on effective strategies to recruit peers to join the club on campus, plan engaging and meaningful activities throughout the school-year, set specific and measurable goals for the program, and provide training support and resources from the Best Buddies staff. With the guiding principal that change comes from a passionate volunteer movement led by young people on a peer-to-peer level, Best Buddies focuses intentionally on supporting student leaders to be the change agents on their campus and throughout the community. Attendees left Leadership Training Day feeling empowered and prepared to guide the Best Buddies mission at their school.

“We are so honored to begin Best Buddies at Beck Academy,” Marci Silver, Faculty Advisor at Beck Academy, said. “I couldn’t wait to get back to Beck from the training to share all of the amazing information that I learned. At Beck, our teachers and staff are incredibly passionate about creating a more inclusive world for our students by supporting one-to-one friendships, so Best Buddies is a perfect pair!”

This year’s Leadership Training Day welcomed nearly 25 leaders from 15 schools across the state. Best Buddies in South Carolina is looking forward to the 2023-24 school year to creating meaningful friendships and successful inclusion on campuses throughout the state.

If you are interested in learning more about Best Buddies in South Carolina or getting involved and supporting this work, please email SouthCarolina@bestbuddies.org or visit www.bestbuddies.org/southcarolina.