Best Buddies Conference Teaches SPHS Seniors How To Better Help The Disabled

While many of their peers were enjoying relaxing family vacations and poolside parties, three Severna Park High School seniors — Abby Haste, Molly Moranto and Claire Gentile — were at the Best Buddies Leadership Conference in Indiana.

The seniors attended the conference for the second time and have been members of the Severna Park Best Buddies Club since their sophomore year. An annual three-day event, the Best Buddies Leadership Conference teaches attendees how to help their disabled classmates assimilate into school and society. This year’s theme, “Pass the Torch,” focused on reaching younger students before they get to high school.

Best Buddies members from each U.S. state, along with representatives of Hong Kong and Panama, attended the conference. “It was very inspirational to see that the program had such an international reach,” Gentile said. “One of the presenters spoke in Spanish to the crowd.”

The conference provided lengthy workshops on fundraising, discussed the different tasks of officers, created one-on-one relationships and included networking.

“The workshops gave me new ideas to use throughout the school year and the traction to start off new projects at the beginning of the year,” Haste said. “The conference helped to reignite my passion for the program.”

Students also engaged in a “friendship walk” to raise funds and spread awareness of the Best Buddies program.

The club at Severna Park High School currently has nine student pairs and a total of 40 members who help out with social events. To be involved, all students must enroll online so they can be matched with disabled students with similar hobbies. Through interaction with other students and inclusion in regular high school activities, the disabled students develop a sense of belonging in the school community.

The conference cost $350 per person to attend, so the Severna Park students held a fundraiser at Chipotle in November to raise money. The restaurant donated half of the proceeds accrued by people who identified the Best Buddies program that evening. A total of $1,500 was raised for the school.

Eunice Shriver formed Best Buddies 28 years ago after she started the Special Olympics. It began at Georgetown University and is now managed by her son, Anthony Shriver.