Need the quick details? We have you covered! Here is a summary:

• Hello, February 💘! In the spirit of February’s theme, this Buddy Beat is all about showing appreciation to your members for joining Best Buddies. Check us out below!

• We hope you join us for our Back to Best Buddies events!

  • Back to Best Buddies Atlanta 🤝 will take place on Saturday, February 8, 2025 from 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. at the Microsoft Office, 200 17th St NW, Atlanta, GA 30363. You don’t want to miss this fun, in-person training experience to ensure that your chapter has a successful spring semester. Click HERE to register.

  • Back to Best Buddies Effingham County 🤝 will take place on Saturday, February 22, 2025 from 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. at Ebenezer Middle School, 1100 Ebenezer Rd, Rincon, GA 31326. Click HERE to register.

• We are thrilled to launch our Friendship Walk events for 2025!

  • SAVE THE DATE: Best Buddies Friendship Walk Atlanta 🎉, Saturday, May 3rd, Johns Creek High School, Register HERE

  • SAVE THE DATE: Best Buddies Friendship Walk Middle Georgia 🎉, Friday, April 25th, Mary Persons High School, Register HERE

  • SAVE THE DATE: Best Buddies Friendship Walk Coastal Georgia 🎉, Sunday, April 27th, Time and Location TBA, Register HERE

• The Best Buddies Leadership Conference (BBLC) 🧩 is taking place on Friday, July 18th through Sunday, July 21st at Indiana University. BBLC is a life changing experience that offers incredible opportunities to develop leadership skills, networking, and useful chapter resources, all while having fun! Please note that it is a mandatory requirement for each high school and college chapter to send at least one member (student leader or faculty advisor) to Leadership Conference. The cost associated with attendance is $400 plus travel. Please click HERE for more info!

• Best Buddies in Georgia is proud to launch our first-ever Student Advisory Board 📢! The BBGA SAB is a competitive, student led board of high school and college students that will assist our reach throughout the state in the areas of BBGA event planning, mission growth, social media, and fundraising. Applications will open in March, so please be on the lookout and send to your chapter members!

• You asked and we listened! We are proud to bring back our Kings and Queens 👑Workshops in the month of February featuring Miss Georgia South USA 2024, Irielle Duncan! Kings and Queens is a motivational experience on self-love, where participants embrace their inner royalty through affirmations. To request Irielle’s appearance to your school, please email Doug Peters at [email protected].

• To extend our support to our chapters, we will begin sharing chapter fundraisers 💵 on our social media pages to our broader community! If you want us to promote your chapter’s fundraisers, please reach out to Doug Peters at [email protected] and copy Catherine Justice at [email protected].

• We truly enjoy reading your updates and staying connected! Click HERE for the Chapter Check-In Form Link.

• Not an email person? Join our community on Remind to get updates there!

  • Faculty Advisors Remind Group - https://www.remind.com/join/764kgf2

  • Student Leaders Remind Group - https://www.remind.com/join/g8868e7

• Gear up for an exciting Spring 2025, and most importantly, have fun!

February is for Friendship, Fun & Fresh Updates!

Greetings and Happy February! As we step into a month filled with love, appreciation, and connection, we are reminded of the power of friendship and the incredible work we do together. With each event, meeting, and moment of advocacy, we continue to build inclusive communities where students with IDD feel seen, valued, and empowered.

We hope to see you at one of our Back to Best Buddies training sessions this month! This is a fantastic opportunity to reconnect, refresh your leadership skills, and gear up for a successful semester. Don’t miss out on this chance to learn, network, and get inspired for the semester ahead. We can’t wait to see you there!

Let’s carry this spirit of appreciation and inclusion throughout the month and beyond. February may be the shortest month of the year, but together, we can make it one filled with lasting impact. Keep leading with heart—Team Best Buddies in Georgia, let’s make this month unforgettable! 💘✨

Exciting News: Meet Stephen, Our New State Director!

Best Buddies in Georgia just got a little bigger 💪! We are thrilled to welcome Stephen Barwick as our new State Director for Best Buddies Georgia. With over 18 years of experience in nonprofit management and a proven track record of fundraising success, Stephen brings a wealth of expertise that will greatly benefit our Best Buddies mission here in Georgia. Before arriving to Best Buddies, he served as the Development Lead at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center in Atlanta, where he managed a team and played a key role in their Build. Inspire. Grow. Capital Campaign, which reached an incredible 93% of its $8.5 million goal in just 10 months.

Stephen’s impressive background spans nonprofit operations, donor cultivation, and strategic planning. His work at Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC) helped secure major grants, including a $750,000 unrestricted grant and a $500,000 appropriations grant from Senator Warnock’s office. Stephen has also contributed to arts and human services organizations like Dad’s Garage Theatre Company and Year Up Greater Atlanta, where he helped secure corporate sponsorships and led key fundraising initiatives.

Known for fostering meaningful partnerships and building community engagement programs, Stephen is a natural collaborator who brings together nonprofits, corporate partners, and government entities to create lasting impact. His passion for inclusivity and service aligns perfectly with our mission at Best Buddies, and we are thrilled to welcome his leadership throughout our programs here Georgia.

Stephen is a lifelong Georgia sports fan, and lives in Decatur, GA with his wife, 7-year-old son and 4-year-old twin daughters.

Please give a warm Best Buddies in Georgia welcome to Stephen! You will likely see him at a few of our school visits and events, but if you would like to say welcome to him directly, please feel free to reach out to him via email at [email protected].

Spreading the Love: Showing Chapter Members Appreciation!

Gif by JustStartInvesting on Giphy

It takes a team of great people to make awesome things happen! Consider expressing appreciation to your members in a fun way for the month of February.

1. Wall of Gratitude – Create a space where members can write appreciation notes to each other!

2. Handwritten Notes – A simple, heartfelt thank-you card goes a long way! Grab a pen and card, and write thank you notes to members.

3. Personalized Shoutouts – Highlight members’ contributions on social media, in meetings, or in newsletters. An additional idea is to consider highlighting a buddy pair or celebrating your Buddy Director!

4. Customized Gifts – Small tokens like keychains, stickers, candy, or t-shirt themes with inside jokes.

5. Birthday & Milestone Celebrations – Acknowledge your members' birthdays, graduations, or special achievements.

6. Member of the Month – Feature a standout member in a newsletter, social media post, or bulletin board.

7. Awards & Certificates – Create fun awards (e.g., “Most Enthusiastic,” “Best Team Player”).

8. Spotlight at Meetings – Take a moment in meetings to acknowledge members’ efforts.

9. Team Socials – Plan a fun event like a member appreciation day, game night, movie night, or group outing.

10. Surprise Treats – Bring snacks, coffee, or small treats to meetings.

11. Relax & Recharge Event – Organize a stress-relief session with activities like mindfulness, crafting, or a gratitude circle. YouTube has a ton of videos to assist with this idea!

12. Peer Recognition Program – Allow members to anonymously nominate each other for recognition.

13. Personalized Thank-You Videos – Record short messages from your executive leadership team expressing gratitude.

Chapter Check-In Forms - Winner Selected!

A BIG Best Buddies thank you to the following schools that completed their chapter check-in forms for January! These forms are a huge help with us providing you with support, and it is greatly appreciated!

This month’s digital gift card winner in bold is…

• Denmark High School - Angie Yeager

• University of North Georgia - Mackenzie Lundy

• Georgia College & State University - Laney Heard

• Decatur High School - Payton Sobon

• King Middle School - Rose Jones

• Ebenezer Middle School - Ivory Brown

• Heritage Elementary - Faith Smith

• Heards Ferry Elementary - Anna Aronowitz and Ms. Williams

• Dade County High School - Deidre Stewart

Thank you for submitting your chapter check-in forms, and congratulations to Faith Smith from Heritage Elementary! Who will be next month’s winner? Submit your form for a chance to win, and keep an eye on the next Buddy Beat to find out!

2025 Best Buddies Friendship Walks

bestbuddiesga

View more on Instagram

It’s time to dust off those walking shoes again 👟! We’re thrilled to kick off another incredible season of hope, inclusion, and positive change—and we can’t wait to reveal this year’s official walk shirt! 💙

The Best Buddies Friendship Walk is more than just a walk—it’s a nationwide movement supporting inclusion for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Each step you make helps create friendships, job opportunities, and leadership development that change lives!

Are you ready to walk for inclusion? Join us in:
📍 Atlanta - Click HERE to register
📍 Middle Georgia - Click HERE to register
📍 Coastal Georgia - Click HERE to register

Also, let us know what local incentives you would like for participating in Friendship Walk for the chance to receive a digital gift card by completing this form!

February is for Friendship! Host a fundraiser and encourage your school to attend Friendship Walk this year!

As you recruit new members and plan inclusive events for your Best Buddies chapter, remember to keep it fun and engaging! 🎉

We have a variety of resources available on Best Buddies University and the Best Buddies in Georgia Chapter Toolkit to support you. These include:
✅ Match party ideas
✅ Recruitment materials
✅ Training resources from LTD and BTBB
✅ Other helpful tools to strengthen your chapter

A HUGE shoutout to Team Best Buddies Denmark High School for hosting their own Back to Best Buddies training for their members! Please check out their presentation by visiting our Leaders Share Ideas folder in our toolkit.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]. Thanks for all you do!

Best Buddies Leadership Conference 2025

We can't wait to see you at this year's Best Buddies Leadership Conference (BBLC)! 🌟 The BBLC brings together leaders, volunteers, and advocates from across the globe to shape the future of the disability rights and inclusion movement.

For over 30 years, the BBLC has empowered thousands to become passionate advocates for Best Buddies, sparking meaningful social change in their communities.

While this conference is open to all, attendance is mandatory for high schools and colleges.

Check out this video from our amazing Chapter President, Izzie Keaton, as she shares her experience at the Leadership Conference!

For more details, visit: https://www.bestbuddies.org/bblc/. Registration information coming soon!

Register TODAY for Back to Best Buddies 2025!

We can’t wait to see you at Back to Best Buddies this year! This is our mandatory training for all elementary, high school, and college chapter leaders. While the event is open to all executive board members, at least one leader from each chapter must attend.

Expect free food, fun giveaways, and tons of valuable information at our in-person sessions! While we will offer virtual and recorded options, we’d love to have you join us in person to connect with other chapter leaders from across the state. Each chapter is only required to attend one session.

To further highlight our excitement, the school with the most sign-ups by Back to Best Buddies will WIN a $150 gift card to use for their Best Buddies school programming! Whether you join Back to Best Buddies in person or virtually, you are still eligible to participate and win! The winning school will have the gift card emailed directly to their faculty member.

Please register using the links below. We look forward to seeing you there!

Upcoming Events

Buddy Spotlight - Meet Lily and Izzy from Heards Ferry Elementary School!

We are thrilled to showcase this month’s Buddy Spotlight, Lily Habif and Izzy Jacobson from Heards Ferry Elementary School! Lily and Izzy were submitted by their Faculty Advisor, Anna Aronowitz. Please see the quote below to learn more about this awesome friendship!

We are grateful to have Izzy, Lily, Anna, and our entire Heards Ferry Elementary 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, Deputy Director of Programs, at [email protected]. Thank you!