Best Buddies is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for one-to-one friendships and integrated employment.
Founded in 1989 by Anthony K. Shriver, Best Buddies is comprised of six programmatic divisions, which positively impact more than 250,000 participants every year. Our programs today reach all 50 of the United States, and Best Buddies has active international programs in Australia, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Hong Kong, Ireland, Mexico, the Philippines and Sweden; with additional programs under development in Austria, Denmark, Japan, Iceland, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
In addition to the traditional campus-based volunteer activities, for those with limited personal time, Best Buddies helps people with intellectual disabilities connect with others through technology with its online friendship program, e-Buddies.
Best Buddies International and its programs are headquartered in Miami, Florida. Each individual program and chapter has a Program Manager to oversee it and assure participants are abiding by Best Buddies policies and procedures. Program Managers are supervised by Program Supervisors and/or State Directors who are responsible for fundraising, publicity, and development of a specific state or area. Headquarters program staff, including the Vice President of Programs, Regional Directors, and Deputy Directors of Programs oversee all Best Buddies International programs on a nationwide level. They perform such tasks as quality assurance, communication, program development, and setting nationwide policies and procedures.
Even though Best Buddies has grown tremendously in its short existence, most of the country still lacks programs to help people with intellectual disabilities become a part of mainstream society. Our goal is to bring Best Buddies to every corner of the United States and every corner of the world, making Best Buddies programs active in every community and on every middle school, high school and college campus.
Specifically, by 2010, Best Buddies will:
� Operate in all 50 states
� Establish programs in 50 countries
� Have 500,000 participants worldwide
Paired with the millions of students worldwide, we can make a huge difference in the lives of the 7.5 million people in the US and 250 million people worldwide who have intellectual disabilities. Best Buddies volunteers annually contribute services that estimate a value of $52 million � at no cost to the community.
