Best Buddies Delaware students attend international conference
Thirteen students and one advisor from Delaware attended the Best Buddies International Leadership Conference July 22-25. The conference, held at Indiana University, brings together leaders with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities from high schools and colleges worldwide, providing them with personalized training that develops the leadership skills needed to organize a Best Buddies chapter.
Through numerous breakout sessions, attendees enhanced their knowledge of the Best Buddies movement by learning about and discussing topics including the global disability rights movement, inclusion, advocacy, professionalism, public speaking, time management, fundraising, and volunteer management. Jenna Steele, an officer from Cape Henlopen High School, said, “[I] learned to never give up and always believe in myself because you can make a difference…I came into this program thinking that I was just helping people with IDD and changing their lives, but little did I know that they would help me and change my life.”
Attendees experience team-building at its best. They are challenged to explore their full potential, tap into their power to motivate others, and translate awareness into quality friendships between students with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Georgina Voss, another officer from Cape Henlopen, said, “Best Buddies is important to me because I love knowing that just by being in the club I am making a difference in the world. Best Buddies really opened up the eyes of most of the people in our community.” Over the past 20 years, the leadership conference has inspired thousands of leaders to be Best Buddies ambassadors and to bring about social change in their communities.
Best Buddies Delaware is proud of all attendees this year, and knows this experience will aid them in having outstanding chapters throughout their schools in Delaware.
Best Buddies thanks the Chichester Du Pont Foundation, The Christmas Shop Foundation and The Boardwalk Buddy Walk and Dennis and Sharonlee Diehl for their generous grants to help support sending this year’s Delaware delegation.
Best Buddies is a nonprofit organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. For more information, visit www.bestbuddies.org.
