Created to bridge the gap between those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and those without, Best Buddies fosters friendships between young adults in the community and college student volunteers.
The club has gained traction amongst academic institutions across the country, including Bradley, since it was founded in 1989.
While the club may be volunteer-based, the relationships are not superficial; rather, they are built on genuine care and respect.
Jillian Cosler, the club’s secretary, has been a part of Best Buddies since she began her academic career at Bradley. She participated in her high school’s version of the club, Friendship Connections and adaptive PE class.
“Once I found out about Friendship Connections, I immediately joined,” Cosler, a sophomore special education major, said. “It was actually a requirement to have Best Buddies at the college that I chose, so I made sure that it was one of the clubs that they [Bradley] offered.”
Pennie Lome, vice president of Best Buddies, also volunteered with the club throughout high school.
“I was in my high school’s chapter of Best Buddies all four years and met a lot of amazing people through doing that, so I decided I wanted to continue in college,” Lome, senior kinesiology and health science major, said.
Buddies are paired together by Lome and Brooke Boster, the club’s president. Lome said the buddies are matched based on everyone’s personalities and who they think would get along best. Buddies may change or multiply each year.
Lome herself has two buddies this year, whereas Cosler has the same buddy as last year.
“I love getting to start new friendships regularly and go out in the Peoria community with all the members to become more involved,” Boster, a junior computer science major, said. “Once or twice a month we host events such as game nights, crafts, painting, field trips and much more. Our club is a safe place to meet new people and have fun.”
Cosler echoes Boster’s sentiment about creating and sustaining new friendships within the community.
“I feel like it’s just friendships for a lifetime,” Cosler said. “The members, the buddies that are in this club, want to have fun and want to be your friend. There are no cares in the world. It’s a good escape from the stress of school and everything.”
All students need to do to join Best Buddies is attend a meeting. The next is Oct. 27 in the Student Center basement.
