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- Best Buddies Georgia Buddy Beat! - December 2023
Best Buddies Georgia Buddy Beat! - December 2023
Your one-stop shop for all things happening with Best Buddies in Georgia schools.
Doug Peters
December 04, 2023
Need the quick, brief details? We have you covered! Here is a summary:
A BIG Best Buddies THANK YOU for all your efforts in uploading information to BB360. Because of YOU, Georgia is above the national average in the country AND one of the TOP 3 states with submitting their information behind Tennessee and Iowa. Way to go!
We are in the process of planning for next year’s Friendship Walk, and need your help with deciding on a date! Please complete the form here. Also, stay tuned as we announce the winners of the pizza party 🍕!
Thank you for submitting your Chapter Check-In Forms this month! Who will be December’s prize giveaway winner 👀? Continue scrolling to find out!
We are entering Back to Best Buddies season! Please use the links below to register for the event closest to your city (Unless you want to drive to another location!). Back to Best Buddies is our mandatory spring training experience, and each chapter is required to attend only one session.
Register HERE for Back to Best Buddies (Atlanta) on Saturday, February 3rd from 11am-2pm at Bowlero Marietta in Marietta, GA.
Register HERE for Back to Best Buddies (Middle Georgia) on Saturday, February 17th at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, GA (Room Location TBA)
(A HUGE shoutout to Ellie and Best Buddies at Georgia College for allowing us to host at your school!)
Register HERE for Back to Best Buddies (Coastal Georgia) on Saturday, February 24th at the First District RESA Office in Metter, GA.
Consider wrapping up the semester by hosting a seasonal party event for the holiday season! Click HERE for a few, cost-effective holiday ideas.
Meet our Buddy Spotlight, Ella Marchese, from Effingham County High School!
Please click here for the Leadership Training Day materials.
It’s never too early to plan ahead! Consider which leader from your chapter will attend the Best Buddies Leadership Conference next year from July 19-July 22, 2024 at Indiana University Bloomington.
Join our virtual community on Remind and GroupMe!
Brace yourself for a phenomenal 2024 and most importantly, have fun!
Happy Holidays from Best Buddies in Georgia!
As the year draws to a close, we reflect on the incredible dedication and hard work each of you has shown throughout this year! Your unwavering commitment to fostering a vibrant and inclusive community has truly made a difference.
During this festive season, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude for your tireless efforts in guiding, supporting, and inspiring your Best Buddies chapter and greater school community. Your leadership, guidance, and support have not only shaped our organization as a whole, but have also contributed to the growth and development of every individual involved.
May this holiday season bring you joy, peace, and precious moments spent with loved ones. Thank you for your dedication and unwavering support. Wishing all of you all a wonderful holiday season and a new year filled with success, happiness, and more fun! ❄🎁⛄
Chapter Check-In Forms - Winner Selected!
We are thrilled to have over 40 elementary, middle, high school, and collegiate Best Buddies school chapters in Georgia! We are so glad to have you a part of our community and look forward to doing amazing work together.
With so many schools and one Program Manager, this form was created to ensure you get the individualized support you need to be successful. This form should be completed once a month per school and should take at most 7 minutes to complete. Only one form is needed per school chapter!
In the spirit of fun and friendship, we are doing a monthly random prize drawing for chapters that complete the Chapter Check-In Form on time for the rest of the school year! The winner for December is….*cues virtual drumroll*
🥁🥁🥁…….
Faith Smith from Heritage Elementary 📢! I will reach out to you individually with the next steps!
Who will be our next winner? We will keep you posted RIGHT HERE in the next Georgia Buddy Beat! Thank you again for completing the check-in forms. It is a HUGE HELP in providing support and helping your chapter continue to be amazing. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need any assistance!
Friendship Walk Season is approaching!
As some of you may be aware, Best Buddies in Georgia is gearing up for three Friendship Walk events in the coming year – one in Atlanta, another in Macon, and a third in Savannah. Your insights and active participation are crucial to the success of these events, as our school chapters play an integral role in making the Friendship Walk a resounding success!
For those who are new to our community, the Best Buddies Friendship Walk stands out as a premier nationwide event dedicated to promoting inclusion for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). With approximately 45,000 participants joining Friendship Walks globally, this event promises a lively and family-friendly celebration featuring FREE food, music, dancing, photo opportunities, and engaging activities. Your involvement will undoubtedly contribute to the vibrancy and success of these events.
We sent out an email saying that the first ten chapters that complete this form and register their chapter in advance for the Friendship Walk event., will receive a pizza party on BBGA 🍕…and we have our winners (so far)! A HUGE congratulations to:
Beacon Hill Middle School
North Atlanta High School
Riverwood International Charter School
Heritage Elementary School
University of North Georgia
Ebenezer Middle School
Guyton Elementary School
Sand Hill Elementary
Thank you for registering, and we look forward to seeing you at Friendship Walk this year! We have TWO more spots left for pizza parties 👀, so join the fun and register TODAY!
Celebrate the end of the semester with a holiday party!
As you recruit new members to your Best Buddies chapter, host match party reveals, or a holiday gathering, don’t forget to make Best Buddies fun!
We have many resources on Best Buddies University and our Best Buddies in Georgia Chapter Toolkit, including match party ideas, recruitment items, training materials from LTD, and other helpful documents. For more questions, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]. Thank you!
Upcoming Events
What in the World is Leaders League??
Leader’s League is a chance to connect with other Best Buddies leaders nationwide (Expansion) and in Georgia (Georgia).
If you can’t make a monthly call, please feel free to pass along the Zoom info to your Vice President or another officer!
As always, if you need anything outside of these monthly calls, you can always shoot your PM, Doug, an e-mail to set up a time to chat one-on-one. We also do a raffle giveaway at the end, so please try to jump on with us!
Back to Best Buddies 2024: Dates Announced
We look forward to seeing you at Back to Best Buddies! Back to Best Buddies is our mandatory spring training experience to jumpstart the Spring 2024 semester. There will be FREE food, fun giveaways, and tons of information! Each chapter is only required to attend one session. Please register using the links below; we look forward to seeing you there!
Remind and GroupMe
We are increasing our chapter support by using Remind to send updates and GroupMe to facilitate the exchange of ideas for a successful year. We hope you join our community!
In the spirit of collaboration, you can use these spaces (including BB360’s Chatter feature) to speak with other chapter leaders to exchange event ideas, fundraiser concepts, BB360 troubleshooting, share event photos, great news, helpful tips, etc.
Remind
GroupMe
Buddy Spotlight - Meet Ella Marchese from Effingham County High School!
We are excited to showcase this month’s Buddy Spotlight, Ella Marchese from Effingham County High School! Ella was submitted by her faculty advisor, Tara Lamb. Please see the quote below to learn more about Ella!
“One of our Buddy Directors, Ella Marchese, has always been an active participant in the ECHS Best Buddies Club since the chapter began. However, this year, she has really blossomed with her leadership abilities in her role as a club officer. Ella has great ideas, and she is very thoughtful with how to carry them out to promote the mission of the club. I am incredibly proud of the young lady that Ella has become.”
We are so happy to have Ella, Tara, and our Effingham County High School chapter with us at Best Buddies in Georgia! Thank you for sharing this spotlight and we appreciate all your hard work in creating an inclusive environment for your school community. To submit a Buddy Spotlight for a member in your chapter, please send a message to Doug Peters at [email protected]!