My Fundraising Goal:
$2,000.00 |
Money Raised to Date:
$2,500.00 |
|
 |
|
| Ryan, Jessica, and I in Hawaii
| Many of you may know my brother, Ryan. For those of you that don't, he is a current freshman at Notre Dame High School. He loves M&M's, Scooby Doo, bowling, swimming, Mamma Mia, ABBA, ordering movies (and the occasional pearls) on Amazon, being the master of our basement, and going on vacations with our family. In addition to all of these characteristics that make my brother who he is, Ryan also has Downs Syndrome. Because of Ryan, I joined an amazing program called Best Buddies at NYU that pairs college students with individuals with intellectual disabilities. The purpose of the program is to allow individuals with intellectual disabilities to cultivate reciprocal friendships with individuals without disabilities. After learning so much from my relationship with Ryan, I realized that I could forge similar friendships through Best Buddies.
At Best Buddies, I was paired with Ethan. Ethan is about 40 years old. He loves to go out to dinner, drink coffee, listen to Kiss, walk around the city, watch Kindergarden Cop, and play with his cat. He volunteers all day from Monday to Thursday at various organizations
throughout the city. Best of all, Ethan loves to spend time with me, as I do with him. He has become one of my closest friends in the city and I'm truly honored to be his Best Buddy. And I am positive that I can say that the rest of the college buddies in Best Buddies feel similarly about their friendships.
Here's a Public Service Announcement about Best Buddies to better your understanding of the program and the relationships that are formed by it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJmuTLXQ7qU
This year, Best Buddies New York is holding the First Annual NYC Friendship Walk to raise money and awareness (bestbuddiesnewyork.org/nycwalk). The walk will be held in Washington Square on April 11, 2010 at 10:00 AM. I’m on the Walk Committee for our team, NYU Best Buddies, and would really appreciate your support. We are looking for additional volunteers to walk on April 11, and are also collecting donations in order to continue funding the programs throughout New York City and to hopefully start new chapters at schools throughout the city. However, it is also an equally important goal of the walk to bring attention and awareness to this cause. We want Best Buddies to be as renown as the Special Olympics. There are 7.5 million Americans with intellectual disabilities, and 200 million worldwide, but they are among the least represented and the least respected populations.
Best Buddies is helping to include people with disabilities, but is a means to an end and not an end in itself. As Anthony Shriver, the Founder and Chairman of Best Buddies International, once said: "I'd love to be in a situation where people with intellectual disabilities naturally integrate on their own and are able to get employed on their own and don't need us. I think it will happen, and one day we won't need an organization like Best Buddies, but we'll be here for as long as they need us."
Please help by registering for the walk and supporting us! You can join the NYU Best Buddies team by clicking here:
http://www.bestbuddiesnewyork.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=339968&lis=1&kntae339968=E808B95DB40F46EAA722208048534627&team=3658382
If you don’t live in New York City, you can still help by donating to our team and spreading the word! You can donate to Best Buddies New York by clicking here:
http://www.bestbuddiesnewyork.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=339968&lis=1&kntae339968=0D1B73FAD03044219C684DE9E4D6ECC0&supId=284287136
Thanks to everyone for their support, it is much needed and much appreciated!
Love,
Shane |
|
