May 5, 2022 – “Best Buddies is full of fun, making new friends, and having a lot of great events,” says Amanda Reiss, who was scheduled to speak at the Best Buddies Friendship Walk planned for Saturday, April 30. But the group experienced how “the best laid plans often go awry” as major storms passed through Estero causing unrecoverable damage. After months of planning for the 600+ registered walkers on 72 teams, Best Buddies in Southwest Florida had to cancel its annual Friendship Walk.
Amanda Reiss and Madison Clearman, Best Buddies FGCU chapter
The Friendship Walk is a fundraising event which supports local area programs that provide one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development and inclusive living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). However, Walk Day is designed as a celebration of the strides made in inclusion for those with IDD. A committee of volunteers has been meeting regularly since January pulling together the details of activities, guest appearances, food and entertainment.
“When there is rain, you will always find a rainbow at the end,” says Walk Chair Jennifer Mackler of the Lee County School District. “Although this year’s Best Buddies Friendship Walk had to be canceled due to Mother Nature destroying the tents and the venue with wind and rain to kick-start the rainy season, there are two positives/rainbows that keep shining through: first, no one was hurt during the storm on Friday night for the setup of the event; and second, we reached our goal for 2022 of raising $80,000 in the name of inclusion for Southwest Florida.”
From the stage, Reiss with her buddy Madison Clearman was prepared to share the benefits of Best Buddies being on the campus at Florida Gulf Coast University. “I have three new buddies I’m so thankful to have. They are Fiona, Tricia and Madison. We enjoy being together, shopping, movies, going out to eat, and talking on the phone. We are girls that wanna have fun!”
Likewise, Clearman wanted everyone who would’ve attended the Friendship Walk to know, “My friendship with Amanda has truly made a great impact on my life, and she and Best Buddies as a whole has been, by far, one of my best experiences during my time at FGCU.”
Area Director Melanie Musick points out that the Southwest Florida area is growing by leaps and bounds, and it shows through the continued growth and commitment of our partner sponsors, community teams, and increasing number of programs in the schools. Says Musick, “We are forever grateful for everyone’s generosity. The more funding we can raise, the more programming we can offer.” For those who would like to support the Best Buddies mission of inclusion, the event website is still taking donations at www.bestbuddiesfriendshipwalk.org/southwestflorida.
This year’s Friendship Walk sponsors included: Tamiami Ford, Victory Agency, ABLE United, Conditioned Air, Achieva Credit Union, Movement Mortgage, Woods Weidenmiller Michetti & Rudnick, Cross Country Mortgage, PDQ, KIA of Cape Coral, Moore Lending Group, STARability Foundation, Lee Health/Golisano Children’s Hospital, Applestitch, Fairlife and Parker Waichman LLP.
Since 2009 more than 250,000 participants have walked in over 60 cities and raised more than $24 million for Best Buddies. “Our Friendship Walks are one of Best Buddies’ most celebrated events, bringing communities together where they can experience our mission in action and engage with our program participants,” said Anthony K. Shriver, Founder, Chairman & CEO of Best Buddies International. “I am beyond grateful that the important work of this organization will continue, thanks to our participants, volunteers, partners and the entire community. I am confident that together we will continue empowering people with special abilities, connecting advocates and mobilizing our supporters to create a more inclusive world.”
ABOUT BEST BUDDIES INTERNATIONAL:
Best Buddies® is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development and inclusive living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Founded in 1989 by Anthony K. Shriver, Best Buddies is a vibrant organization that has grown from one original chapter to nearly 2,900 middle school, high school, and college chapters worldwide. Today, Best Buddies’ nine formal programs — Middle Schools, High Schools, Colleges, Citizens, e-Buddies® , Jobs, Ambassadors, Promoters and Inclusive Living— engage participants in each of the 50 states and in 56 countries, positively impacting the lives of nearly 700,000 people with and without disabilities around the world. In many cases, as a result of their involvement with Best Buddies, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities secure rewarding jobs, live on their own, become inspirational leaders, and make lifelong friendships. For more information, please visit www.bestbuddies.org, www.facebook.com/bestbuddies or www.twitter.com/bestbuddies.
