In July, Pine Richland High School senior Leah Martin attended the Best Buddies Leadership Conference at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. The four-day conference brought together student leaders from around the world who united with a shared goal of helping to foster acceptance and inclusion in their community and school. 

Students had the opportunity to network with experts, attend professional presentations and choose from educational and informational sessions geared towards inspiring social change. Leah will continue to support and implement the mission of Best Buddies as president of the Pine Richland High School Best Buddies chapter this school year.

Best Buddies helps to create one-to-one friendships between people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), offering social mentoring while improving the quality of life and level of inclusion for a population that is often isolated and excluded. Through their participation, people with IDD form meaningful connections with their peers, gain self-confidence and self-esteem, and share interests, experiences, and activities that many other individuals enjoy. The only requirement to join is the willingness to be a friend.

The first monthly meeting of this school year will be held Wednesday, September 20, immediately after school in the Global Studies room. We hope to see you there!