Best Buddies Arizona

Best Buddies Arizona is a nonprofit organization doing business in the Greater Phoenix area. I posed ten questions to a representative of Best Buddies Arizona in an effort to familiarize Phoenix area residents with the organization. Here are the responses I received.

What is the name of the organization?

Best Buddies Arizona
Mission: to enhance the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for one-to-one friendships.

How long has the organization been operating in the Phoenix area?

Since 2000.

Does the organization serve a particular geographic area?

Maricopa County and colleges in Tucson and Flagstaff.

Who is most likely to benefit from services provided by the organization?

People with intellectual disabilities, their families, friends and the communities they live in. People afflicted with intellectual disabilities are often excluded from society because of their differences. Best Buddies is determined to end social isolation for people with intellectual disabilities by establishing meaningful, lasting one-to-one friendships with their non-disabled peers. These friendships help increase self-esteem, confidence and the abilities of people with and without intellectual disabilities.

Are there requirements or prerequisites for people to access your services?

There are several different programs available depending on age. Services are available on 33 high school campuses in Maricopa County and a person with an intellectual disability can be matched with a friend through our ebuddies program at www.ebuddies.org.

Three things about Best Buddies Arizona that people might not know.

1. Best Buddies is the largest and oldest organization in the United States dedicated to full inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities; it started with a single chapter at Georgetown University and now includes more than 1,300 middle school, high school and college chapters, and reaches participants in all 50 states and 34 foreign countries.
2. Members commit to contacting each other once per week and hanging out together twice per month for the duration of the academic year; this builds in the continuity necessary for meaningful, lasting friendships to develop.
3. Our long-term goal is for people with intellectual disabilities to be so successfully integrated into our schools, workplaces and communities that our services are no longer necessary. Until then, we work to achieve the following: 1) promote one-to-one friendship opportunities between people with and without intellectual disabilities; 2) develop leadership skills in students and adults with and without intellectual disabilities; 3) transform attitudes about the needs and abilities of people with intellectual disabilities; and 4) develop social skills in people with disabilities that aid in their employment, integration and independence.

What is the local address?

502 W. Roosevelt Street
Building #2
Phoenix, AZ 85003

What is the local phone number?

602-954-3877

What is the URL of the local web site?

www.bestbuddiesarizona.org

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