{"id":187000,"date":"2025-03-07T11:37:11","date_gmt":"2025-03-07T16:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/?p=187000"},"modified":"2025-03-07T11:37:11","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T16:37:11","slug":"nancy-merrill-sullivan-honored-with-best-buddies-2024-diane-ray-brown-lifetime-of-friendship-award-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/back-to-best-buddies-2025","title":{"rendered":"Back to Best Buddies 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_single_image image=”187008″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_column_text css=””]In February, 60 students came together in-person and online for Back to Best Buddies. Chapter leaders kicked off the new semester by registering for the Friendship Walk<\/a>, personalizing their pages, and starting their school\u2019s team page. By the end of the day, all their school teams were started, and the fundraising competition was on!<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Friendship Walk is one of the biggest events Best Buddies does, and it is definitely the one that means the most to a lot of our students,\u201d<\/em> said Grace from George Mason University<\/a>. \u201cEveryone is so excited to be back with everyone at the Friendship Walk.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Smiles<\/p>\n

Heading into spring and preparing for the next school year, students learned about the new chapter president selection process and the opportunity to attend Best Buddies Leadership Conference<\/a> (BBLC). Several members who attended BBLC in 2024 shared their advice and favorite memories.<\/p>\n

This semester, Tilda from Meridian High School<\/a> is excited to \u201ccontinuing to grow relationships with the community at Meridian and the Friendship Walk.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Students also learned about supporting matches and how to face common chapter challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Best Buddies] is about inclusion\u2014creating safe spaces where everyone can be welcome,\u201d<\/em> said Olivia from George Mason University<\/a>. \u201cWhen I went to college, Best Buddies was one of the first clubs I joined, and it is where I met some of my best friends.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Back to Best Buddies also gave students an opportunity to connect with chapter leaders from other schools to learn from one another and brainstorm ideas.<\/p>\n

\"Repping<\/p>\n

\u201c[Best Buddies] has helped me meet new people and make new friends,\u201d<\/em> said Adam from Meridian High School<\/a>. \u201cI have met people from different schools that I would’ve never crossed paths with before!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

At the end of the day, students left feeling prepared and motivated to lead their chapters towards success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned about ways to fundraise, and my social skills got better because I got to talk a lot,\u201d<\/em> said Brady from Centreville High School<\/a>. \u201cI used to be really shy but Best Buddies helped me come out of my shell!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Are you interested in starting a Best Buddies chapter at your school? Reach out to Program Supervisor Veah Velasco at VeahVelasco@BestBuddies.org<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Best Buddies helped me come out of my shell and make friends!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2080,"featured_media":187008,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"vadc-single-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[504,505],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-187000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-capital-region","category-capital-region-news"],"yoast_head":"\nBack to Best Buddies 2025 - Best Buddies International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/back-to-best-buddies-2025\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Back to Best Buddies 2025 - Best Buddies International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Best Buddies helped me come out of my shell and make friends!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/back-to-best-buddies-2025\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Best Buddies International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-07T16:37:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/2025-BBVADC-group-image.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"leemosler\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"leemosler\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/back-to-best-buddies-2025\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/back-to-best-buddies-2025\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"leemosler\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/#\/schema\/person\/e016e3c8c2cd3b7e04adf72b23efb560\"},\"headline\":\"Back to Best Buddies 2025\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-07T16:37:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-07T16:37:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/back-to-best-buddies-2025\/\"},\"wordCount\":415,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/back-to-best-buddies-2025\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/2025-BBVADC-group-image.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Capital Region\",\"Capital Region News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/back-to-best-buddies-2025\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/back-to-best-buddies-2025\/\",\"name\":\"Back to Best Buddies 2025 - 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