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About Best Buddies Founded in 1989 by Anthony K. Shriver, Best Buddies is a vibrant, international organization involving 50,000 participants in all 50 of the United States, as well as in Canada, Colombia, Egypt, Greece, Ireland, Mexico, the Philippines, and Sweden; with programs soon developing in Cuba, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. It has grown from one original chapter to more than 1,000 middle school, high school, and college campuses across the country and internationally. In addition to the traditional campus-based volunteer activities, and 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. Since its inception in 1989, Best Buddies has had an impact on the lives of more than 250,000 volunteers and people with intellectual disabilities in hundreds of communities around the world. 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: Paired with the 14 million college students in the U.S. and the 77 million college 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. |
