This year, I was put in charge of St. George’s Best Buddies club and, to be honest, the organization has helped me more than I have helped it.

Best Buddies is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating opportunities for one-on-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The organization helps in schools with special needs programs by pairing a student with a disability, referred to as a “buddy,” and a student without a disability, called a “peer buddy,” in a mutually beneficial friendship. Schools like St. George’s, which do not have special needs programs, help by planning large group events for all of the schools that are involved.

The inclusion aspect is what makes Best Buddies so special. According to the World Health Organization, over a billion people, which is about 15 percent of the world’s population, have some sort of disability. That is over a billion people who have often found themselves segregated and ostracized. Best Buddies is helping by including people with disabilities and expanding their circle of friends.

“Our buddies value and cherish a friend as much as a peer buddy, but their opportunities for socialization are often limited,” said Best Buddies Memphis Program Manager Mr. Brian McNulty. “We like to say our one-to-one friendships are mutually beneficial, but it almost always ends up with the peer buddy benefitting way more from their friendship due to the perspective and changes in mindset that come with it.”

People with disabilities should be treated with the same respect as people without disabilities. Best Buddies is trying to help the world understand this by integrating schools and workplaces so that the organization can be put out of business one day. They are making a difference in 1,900 schools, 50 states and 50 countries around the world.

I first was introduced to Best Buddies by my seventh-grade advisor, Mr. Chris Miller. I agreed to help him start a chapter of Best Buddies at St. George’s, so I took a seven-hour bus ride to Indiana to attend the annual Best Buddies Leadership Conference, which is where I fell in love with the organization and their message. At the three-day conference, I heard special guest speakers tell their stories about how Best Buddies changed their lives. I came back from the conference inspired and determined to make a difference, beginning at St. George’s.

This past Christmas, the St. George’s Best Buddies club held a Christmas party at St. George’s for students with disabilities from other schools. We ate, talked, dance, sang and played board games, and while it was fun, most people agreed that the genuine love and respect between the students was the best part about the event.

Recently, members of Best Buddies in Memphis attended a Best Buddies prom that was hosted at Hope Church. St. George’s students acted as the paparazzi for the attendees during the first half of prom, taking pictures of participants as they entered down the red carpet. The fearlessness of the buddies as they strutted down the walkway was a courage that I have not yet acquired.

After everyone had arrived, St. George’s students danced and socialized with everybody, and several took the stage with people from other schools to do karaoke. Looking around at the authentic happiness and joy in the room, I could not help but smile and be grateful that I am a part of such a special organization.

On Saturday, April 11, from 11am to 2pm, St. George’s will be helping with the Best Buddies Friendship Walk, which is an annual event that includes face painting, bounce houses, live music and, most importantly, friendship. As a school, Team St. George’s has already successfully raised over $1000.

“People can help as volunteers at our events like Prom and Friendship Walk, or by starting chapters at their respective schools,” said Mr. McNulty. “As a non-profit organization, we rely heavily on donations, fundraising and corporate sponsorship.”

Anyone can help with the inclusion revolution. Whether participating in Best Buddies, donating or even refusing to use the r-word and encouraging others to rid the word from their vocabulary as well, you are making a difference. I believe with all my heart that one day, the world will be forever changed for the better and a program like Best Buddies will not be necessary. It all starts with you.