March is Best Buddies Month! Here’s how you can celebrate

March is Best Buddies Month

Best Buddies Month is a time for Best Buddies participants to reflect on the importance of friendship, jobs, and the development of future leaders. Most importantly, it is a time to show the world the significance of these essentials in every individual’s life.

What began in 1993 as a one-day event has become a month-long celebration of the Best Buddies mission. 2014 marks our 25th Anniversary, and we want you to celebrate the impact our friendship, jobs, and leadership development programs have had on your life. In addition to all the fun and exciting activities your chapter has planned, we’re asking you to celebrate Best Buddies Month by doing one, or all, of the following:

1) Sign up for the Best Buddies Friendship Walk to help create communities of inclusion

Over the years, our walks have made a profound impact in communities nationwide, especially for individuals with IDD. Every Best Buddies Friendship Walk promotes an atmosphere for new friendships, promises opportunities, and most of all, inclusion for all people. This is where you can make a difference! You can make new friends, and promote community inclusion simply by participating in this year’s Best Buddies Friendship Walk.

Tell your friends you’ve signed up via Facebook, Twitter & Instagram with #BBFW2014

2) Share your friendship “Buddy-versary”

Whether you’ve been matched for a few months, or 10 years, we want you to celebrate being a part of Best Buddies by sharing a photo of you and your buddy holding up a sign with the time you’ve been friends. Every friendship counts!

We will use select photos for a collage to be featured at the end of the month!

Send us pictures on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram with #Buddyversary

3) Wear your Best Buddies gear with pride

What better way to display the power of our mission than by wearing your Haring tee? It’s a conversation starter, and one of our biggest creators of awareness, besides you. Don’t have Best Buddies gear? Visit our merchandise store at www.bestbuddies.org/shop. In honor of our 25th anniversary, we are taking 25% off regular-priced items* all month long with promo code BBMONTH25.

Send us pictures on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram with #BestBuddiesMonth

4) Take the Spread the Word to End the Word pledge and promote respectful language for everyone

March 5th was Spread the Word to End the Word Day, but our campaign doesn’t start or end there. Pledge to end the derogatory use of the word “retard(ed)” by taking the pledge at www.r-word.org, and encourage your friends and family to join our campaign to promote respectful language.