Best Buddies International

Best Buddies International
Founded1989; 35 years ago (1989)
FounderAnthony Kennedy Shriver
TypeService
FocusTo enhance the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
Location
OriginsGeorgetown University
Area served
Worldwide
MethodCommunity service
Websitebestbuddies.org

Best Buddies International is an American nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. It consists of volunteers that create opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The program's main purpose is to allow volunteers to be paired up with a buddy with an intellectual and developmental disability and provide them with a friend or a mentor.[1] Best Buddies is the world's largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with IDD.[2] It is an international movement that has spread to over 54 countries worldwide.[3]

Founded in 1989 by Anthony Kennedy Shriver, Best Buddies is an international organization that has grown from one original chapter to more than 1,500 college, high school and middle school campuses across the United States and internationally.[4] The Georgetown University Chapter of Best Buddies is the biggest in the Washington, D.C., area and is also the birthplace of the organization.[5]

  1. ^ Hardman, Michael, and Christine Clark. "Promoting Friendship Through Best Buddies: A National Survey of College Program Participants." N.p., Feb. 2006. Web. 30 Sept. 2013. <http://steps-forward.org/pdf/Promoting_Friendship_Through_Best_Buddies-_A_National_Survey_of_College_ProgramParticipants.pdf> Archived October 20, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ "Mission". Best Buddies International. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
  3. ^ "International Programs". Best Buddies International.
  4. ^ "Best Buddies International". Archived from the original on 2009-08-30. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
  5. ^ "Best Buddies International." Best Buddies International. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2013. <http://www.bestbuddies.org/best-buddies Archived 2009-08-30 at the Wayback Machine>.