Dear Friends and Family, Welcome to the fifth-annual Champion of the Year Gala for Best Buddies in Maine! Tonight, we aim to celebrate, recognize, and uplift the intellectual and development disability community in our state. Hundreds of you have supported this Champion of the Year fundraising campaign for that very same purpose. This eight-week philanthropic competition for Best Buddies in Maine celebrates Best Buddies participants and community leaders throughout the State who have been nominated as “Champions” to raise funds and increase awareness for the mission of Best Buddies. Following an eight-week campaign, all candidates are being honored at the Champion of the Year Gala. The Champion candidate who raises the most donations, surpassing all rivals in the competition, is named our 2023 Grand Champion of the Year. Funds raised by the Champions and proceeds from the Gala will directly benefit the local programs of Best Buddies in Maine to create more friendships, develop leadership opportunities, and open new programs for hundreds of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities around the state. Thank you for your support of our Champion of the Year Gala and beyond! We couldn’t do this without your help, and we’re grateful for our donors every day. In Friendship,
Rebecca Williams State Director, Best Buddies in Maine
All donations are tax-deductible under all ME laws of tax deductible donations for 501(c)(3) organizations.
Thank You To Our Event Sponsors!
Your Donation Counts
Circle of Champions
Lauren Weber | Over $42,000 Raised in 2022 Our 2022 Champion of the Year was Greely High School senior Lauren Weber. Raising over $42,000 for Best Buddies with her fundraising campaign last year, Lauren has made a tremendous impact on our local programs. She and her sister, Kate, have been members of the BB chapters at Greely Middle and High School since the beginning. Her mother, Jennifer, serves on our Advisory Board and Gala Committee as Sponsorship Chair. Lauren is currently working towards a degree in Business Administration at Bentley University. She’s already plugged in with her school’s Best Buddies chapter on campus, and we can’t wait to see what she accomplishes in the next four years. Go Falcons!
2019 Champion Stacey Ryan
2020 Champion Jaime Kiesow
2021 Champion Scott Kent
Candidates and Mission Partners
Mary Pat Donnellon & Kevin Sweeney
Carlie Geiger
Lillian Hanley & Kate Worden
Fiona MacArthur & Payton Brown
Johnny Maffei & Tucker Conley
Tara Nelson
Sam Norris & Damien Theriault
Vanessa Phipps
Kelly Scheetz & Molly Berry
Sean Slaughter & Evan Zack
Madison Storey & Timmy Kerr
Kristen Tully & Julia Preston
Maine OUR PROGRAMS Best Buddies enables Maine youth with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) to participate in social activities with their neurotypical peers. This is achieved through the creation and management of school-based, volunteer-led chapters that facilitate and support one-to-one mentoring friendships between participants with IDD and their peers. Our programming extends from elementary to collegiate-level. Best Buddies at Deering High School, June 2023
Best Buddies at Cape Elizabeth High School, February 2023
2023 TESTIMONIALS “I know that for most of the students in the Resource room and Life Skills classroom, they felt accepted and appreciated by their peers” Olivia Uhde, South Portland High School Chapter President
“One highlight for me was when a student and their buddy brought their families to the movies. The students’ mom said they had never been able to take him out with a peer because no peer ever understood his loud mannerisms and invading spaces. The mom cried and it made me tear up they got to experience that with their child.” Megan Rogers, Bonny Eagle Middle School Advisor
“We have made a lot of progress talking about inclusion throughout the building and beginning to build on the progress we have made. We also had pairings made with some 5th grade students to make and deliver snacks, which was a huge success.” Krystina Cook, Buxton Center Elementary School Advisor
BBLC TESTIMONIALS
THE NEED
92% of Maine students with intellectual disabilities spend most of the school day in separate settings, which makes it difficult for them to develop the social skills they need for success after school. This is lower than in 42 states. (ideadata.org)
Best Buddies Leadership Conference (BBLC) unites Best Buddies leaders, volunteers, and community advocates from around the globe to imagine, create, lead and empower the future of the disability rights and inclusion movement. Over the past 30 years, BBLC has inspired thousands of leaders to be Best Buddies advocates and to bring about social change.
“It was the most amazing experience of my life. It’s like something deep within me was ignited. Every person I met there I could immediately call a friend.” Wilson Clough, Wells High School Chapter President
“BBLC helped me become a better leader for my community. It was inspiring seeing student leaders come together and learn all these new ideas for our chapters.” Falmouth High School Chapter at the Portland Friendship Walk, May 2022
Alemnesh Sesselberg, CEHS Chapter President
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
JOIN A CHAPTER
JOIN CITIZENS (18+)
Join an existing school chapter! We have clubs at schools with and without built-in special education programs.
Make a friend while participating in inclusive activities with adults with and without IDD in your local community.
START A CHAPTER
JOIN E-BUDDIES
Be an inclusion leader by starting a Best Buddies chapter! Receive support from Best Buddies staff every step of the way.
Provide social inclusion and be a friend in a virtual space in our emailbased pen pal program.
BE AN AMBASSADOR
BRING AN AMBASSADOR TO YOUR COMMUNITY
Attend an Ambassador training to learn speech writing, public speaking, and advocacy skills for the disability population.
Invite an Ambassador to speak about inclusion at your school, workplace, or community group!
BE A SPEECH COACH
HOST A TRAINING
Attend a training as a speech coach to support an individual on their journey to becoming an Ambassador.
Get a group together to level up your leadership and advocacy skills. We provide the content, and you lead the training!
SIGNATURE EVENTS & ADVISORY BOARD
JOIN A COMMITTEE
ATTEND AN EVENT
Support our annual signature events by joining a committee and assisting with logistics, publicity, and much more!
One of the best ways to spread awareness for inclusion is to attend our events! Invite friends, family, and co-workers to join you.
JOIN OUR LOCAL ADVISORY BOARD Advisory board members commit to a two-year term where they utilize their skills and connections to expand our reach at the local level. *There is an application and interview process for this volunteer opportunity.
School Programs Collegiate: Bowdoin College Husson University University of Maine (Orono) University of New England University of Southern Maine
Middle School: Bonny Eagle MS Falmouth MS Freeport MS Gorham MS Greely MS Messalonskee MS
Elementary: Brixham Montessori Friends Brown Elementary Buxton Center Elementary Downeast School Greely 4-5 Longfellow Elementary Vine Street
High School: Bangor HS Cape Elizabeth HS Cheverus HS Deering HS Falmouth HS Freeport HS Greely HS Portland HS South Portland HS Thornton Academy Wells HS Yarmouth HS
With 34 school and community chapters spanning across the state, our reach is further than ever. If you have a school connection and want to Best Buddies in your community, reach out to us!
BBME Advisory Board ROB MCPHEETERS BBME Board President; VP Strategy, EnviroLogix TUCKER CONLEY Community Volunteer BBME Ambassador MARY PAT DONNELLON Senior Advisor, Susquehanna Growth Equity OLIVIA FRAIOLI Community Relations Manager, NDSS LIZ KALIL Speech Language Therapist SCOTT KENT Retired COO, United Insurance AMY PARKER M.D., Maine Health JEN PINCUS Trial Attorney, United States Department of Justice, Office of the United States AMY SAFFIAN Bookkeeper, Substantial Investments, Inc. JENNIFER GRIMSHAW WEBER Sales Director, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield SCOTT WENTZELL Partner Marketing Manager, WEX Inc. RACHEL WILLIAMS Pre-School Teacher, The Willow School
Proudly supporting Vanessa Phipps, manager of our Auburn location, on her journey to become Best Buddies Champion of the Year 2023.
Day’s Jewelers Grand Prize Giveaway
Dabakarov Champagne and White Diamond Necklace in 14-Karat Yellow Gold Valued at $3,195
Working together to build better lives and stronger communities PROUD TO SPONSOR
Champion of the Year Gala Best Buddies © 2023 Unum Group. All rights reserved. Unum is a registered trademark and marketing brand of Unum Group and its insuring subsidiaries.
Partnering for better Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is proud to sponsor Best Buddies’ Champion of the Year Gala 2023. Together, we can work toward better for everyone in our communities. Learn more at harvardpilgrim.org
Walk. Celebrate. Support.
05.05.23 Cheverus High School | 10:00AM The Best Buddies Friendship Walk is the leading walk in the country supporting inclusion for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (also known as IDD).
BESTBUDDIESFRIENDSHIPWALK.ORG/MAINE
Best Buddies in Maine Maine@bestbuddies.org