In my second year of high school, my sister encouraged me to join Best Buddies--a club she was a leader of that supported students with intellectual disabilities.  During my time in the club, I witnessed all these students were doing to help these kids and I saw how accepting they were. Each “buddy” was assigned to a club member. Since I was new, I shared a buddy with my sister.

As a club, we took the buddies on trips and spent time with them outside of school. One of the most memorable events was the Christmas party. We had a white elephant gift exchange, decorated cookies, and delivered them to an old age home. Members of Best Buddies check up on their buddies at school to make sure they’re doing okay, and many members make an effort to sit by their buddy at lunch. If a buddy is dealing with bullying or harassment at school, the member they’re assigned to works to fix the problem.

On top of all the club does for intellectually disabled kids, Best Buddies organizes a “Spread the Word to End the Word” movement at our school. The movement encourages kids to stop using the “R” word and to stop bullying classmates who are intellectually disabled. They raise awareness on how hurtful the “R” word is by having intellectually disabled kids speak about how they feel when they hear it.  The club made a “Spread the Word to End the Word” banner and had kids sign it at lunch. They also created t-shirts that said “Be a buddy, not a bully.”
Students and staff involved in Best Buddies devote their time to making improvements to the club. Members of Best Buddies show how much they care for these kids by organizing events for them, spending time with them outside of school, and making sure their buddies are doing okay in school. Due to the outstanding Best Buddies program, students and staff have shown how important ending bullying is to them.