Whitman’s Best Buddies program was named Maryland’s Outstanding Chapter of the Year at the National Best Buddies Convention in Indiana this July. 

Best Buddies is an international organization with the mission of promoting volunteer and leadership opportunities with individuals who have intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), which includes conditions such as down syndrome, autism and Fragile X.

Indiana University holds The Best Buddies Leadership Conference each year in July for student leaders, advisors and parents. The 4-day conference consists of multiple events such as workshops on how to make a more inclusive community, as well as networking events and guest speaker events. 

Ryan Mullin is a Learning for Independence teacher and the Best Buddies club sponsor. Mullin said Whitman’s Best Buddies provides students with an opportunity to connect with students they don’t regularly interact with.

“We have a great variety of activities,” Mullin said. “You’re going to meet some really cool individuals who just want to make friends.”

Best Buddies Friendships is one of the mission pillars for student clubs. The goal is to foster friendships between those with and without IDDs. Emme Rich is the Best Buddies club treasurer and has been in the club for 4 years. Rich explained the structure of Whitman Best Buddies. 

“There’s four or five general-ed students and one special-ed student who’s in your family,” Rich said. “Whitman has a really big chapter of Best Buddies, and I think most people are really involved.”

Anthony Shriver founded The Best Buddies organization in 1987 at Georgetown University and became the nation’s first recreational program for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Mullin said Whitman’s Best Buddies’ recent recognition is the result of years of growth and dedication. 

“A lot of it is building on stuff,” Mullin said. “They take examples from the people that preceded them, so taking that work and saying we like this and we’re going to keep improving it, or we don’t like that and we are going to do something completely different.”

Best Buddies International holds a variety of other activities, including Best Buddies Cycling challenges, which can be up to 100 miles. There are also friendship walks and galas throughout the year. 

Senior Lila Robinson is this year’s club secretary and says that the Whitman Best Buddies chapter participates in a range of activities locally.  

“We do Best Buddies Friendship walk at the University of Maryland, we do a Ledo’s pizza fundraiser,” Robinson said. “We do a bunch of different club meetings, and we get some really cool opportunities with different Best Buddies chapters.”

Best Buddies International continues to expand its services. In 2024, the organization added a fifth mission pillar: family support, which assists parents in raising children with IDD.

Mullin says he encourages all Whitman students to consider joining the club. 

“If anybody has even a remote interest in joining,” Mullin said, “it’s the most inclusive club at school.”