Best Buddies fosters friendship and much more

Growing statewide group to host Friendship Walk April 30 at Conestee Park

Dylan Singhi, a senior at Furman University, has a great friend whom he meets up with to hike, enjoy meals and celebrate birthdays.

It’s a typical tale of friendship with one exception: Dylan doesn’t have intellectual or developmental disabilities, or IDD, and his friend Matthias does.

Singhi is part of Best Buddies, an organization that is expanding statewide in its mission of ending social, physical and economic isolation for people with IDD. One way the organization does that is building one-on-one friendships.

“My buddy inspires me to be a better person every day,” says Singhi, a pre-med major who became president of Furman’s Best Buddies group in 2021. “There’s this misconception that a diagnosis is everything, but it isn’t. He’s just a great guy.”

In a contentious age, Courtney Rambo says there’s something that’s all pro and no con: friendship. That’s why she is excited about her new role as director of mission advancement for Best Buddies South Carolina. While several colleges and high schools in the state have Best Buddies chapters, she is kickstarting a concerted effort to grow the organization, which was founded by Anthony Kennedy Shriver in 1989.

Rambo’s efforts include building on all four of the group’s pillars: one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living. Programs include school friendship chapters, citizens’ groups that pair adult peers, an eBuddies pen pal program, and Best Buddies Jobs, which identifies employee candidates for companies focused on diversity, equity and inclusion.

The international group now has almost 3,000 chapters in all 50 states and in dozens of countries. Though it is difficult to track accurately, recent statistics show that there are approximately 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities worldwide.

Carey Lee Hudson, a Greenville artist, heard about the mission of Best Buddies through her daughter, Caroline, who lives in Charlotte and is involved with Best Buddies North Carolina. Caroline was inspired to join the group because of her brother, Knox, who has autism.

“She told me about it and said, ‘This tugs at my heart. I wish my brother had something like this,’” says Cary Lee Hudson, who has four grown children.

Knox graduated from ClemsonLIFE, a program that offers a collegiate experience and prepares people with intellectual disabilities for competitive employment and independent living.

“We started to learn about this wonderful program in North Carolina, and we realized we need it in South Carolina,” Hudson says. “There were a couple of pockets of it here, but it was hit-or-miss. We realized if we could raise some funds and get some staffing, we could continue developing the program.”

The S.C. organization launched with the Best Buddies Champion of the Year gala in Greenville last November with the goal of raising $65,000. Thanks to support from friends across the state, they almost doubled their goal, raising $113,000.

At the event, people with IDD take ownership of the process by working to raise funds and secure sponsorships. “Knox was paired with his cousin Jay Davis to get sponsorships, solicit items for a silent auction, and also spread awareness, selling tickets and getting the word out,” Hudson says. The team earned the title of Champion of the Year for their efforts.

The funds allowed the organization to hire Rambo and other staff. The growing team is working to build awareness and programming; next up is a friendship walk on April 30 at Conestee Park.

Hudson is gratified to see how Best Buddies has impacted her own family, but says the organization is much more than a personal mission, as the group’s efforts benefit the entire state and every age, from childhood through adulthood, careers and beyond.

“It’s all about inclusion, friendships, and work,” she says. Best Buddies participants “are so worthy of our love and friendship.”

For more information, visit bestbuddieschampion.org/southcarolina/ or email southcarolina@bestbuddies.org.

You can help

Volunteer

Be a Friend. Join Best Buddies @ bestbuddieschampion.org/southcarolina/

Start a Best Buddies chapter at your school. Contact Courtney Rambo at courtneyrambo@bestbuddies.org to get started.

Raise Funds + Awareness

Participate and lead a team at SC’s inaugural Best Buddies Friendship Walk on April 30.

Be inclusive

Ask your employer to consider integrated employment options for people with IDD. 81% of adults (18+) with IDD do not have a paid job in the community.