2025 Beneficiary
Best Buddies Maine
Best Buddies International’s mission is to establish a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, inclusive living, and family support for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
Best Buddies in Maine aims to eliminate the social, emotional, and economic barriers of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) through one-to-one friendships and leadership opportunities. Our programs are
based upon the organization’s firmly held belief that people with IDD have the capacity to be loyal friends, strong community leaders, and valued citizens. Students with disabilities can and should be integrated seamlessly into the fabric of the communities in which they live, yet 92% of Maine students with IDD spend most of the school day in separate settings, which makes it difficult for them to develop the social skills they need for success after school (ideadata.org). They are separated from the rest of the population with little or few opportunities to make organic and valuable friendships, and and the long-term consequences of such exclusion can be devastating. Best Buddies offers a solution to this problem by creating deliberately inclusive school communities, one friendship at a time.
Best Buddies in Maine has more than 1300 participants statewide, with a presence in 47 k-12 schools, focusing on two of the organization’s mission pillars:
The Best Buddies Friendship Program builds mutually enriching friendships between students with and without IDD, offering social opportunities while improving the quality of life and level of inclusion for a population that is often isolated and excluded. Further, our programs help students with IDD form meaningful connections with their peers, gain self-confidence and self- esteem, and share interests, experiences, and activities that many other individuals regularly enjoy. The program operates on the simple concept that EVERYBODY does better with a friend, and Best Buddies helps open the doors for all students to find that friend.
Best Buddies Leadership Development programs educate and empower people with and without IDD to become leaders, public speakers and advocates. Best Buddies passionately believes that its program participants can lead the effort within their community and beyond to build a more inclusive world for people with IDD. This includes our Transitions Program which empowers students ages 14-22 in taking ownership in their future and creating meaningful and competitive workplace training and experiences. This prepares them for a fulfilling adulthood as valued members of their communities.
Best Buddies in Maine envisions a world where people with IDD are so successfully integrated into schools, workplaces, and communities that our current efforts and services will be unnecessary. Until that vision becomes a reality, we will continue to work with students, community members, corporations and employers about advocating for the inclusion of people with IDD in all aspects of life. We are honored that Beach to Beacon will help us take another step towards that goal, so we together can create a successful future for all Maine youth Visit the Best Buddies website to learn more about their incredible work.
