By the middle of the week, many students want to shoot some hoops, play UNO or sit outside and chat with friends. The Best Buddies Club offers all that and more.
The club meets every two weeks in the Schluntz Gymnasium during X-block to play games, craft and talk among friends. As a chapter of the international Best Buddies organization, the club community provides a space for students with disabilities to create friendships with mentors from the high school.
Co-adviser Liza Casal has been part of the Best Buddies club for five years and said she wants to create a safe environment to bring students of all abilities together.
“It’s a space for individuals with disabilities to pair with a mentor from the high school to build a friendship, to have fun together and create a relationship and talk about the community,” Casal said.
Senior and Best Buddies president Flo Spunt was drawn to the club as a sophomore in order to spend time with her friends, some of whom she has known since elementary school.
“When I joined the club, I knew so many of the members of the club already and met new people. I had such a good time with them,” Spunt said. “I think over time I grew to love the club more and more.”
Junior and vice president Sophia Miller-Culver said that the inclusivity of the Buddies club is helpful for the students in the high school’s Reaching for Independence through Structured Education program (RISE). The RISE program is specially designed for students with autism, and many are part of the Best Buddies community.
“The best thing is, since I’m in RISE, I get to be with the special ed kids there, and then I have a vice president in Best Buddies that’s not in special ed,” Miller-Culver said. “So [students] can see that there are different kids in a club who can still be included.”
According to Casal, the club’s meeting time allows for flexibility, as meetings occur biweekly so members can join other clubs, as well. A usual meeting is generally loosely structured, which Casal says is great for increasing friendships and social activity.
“They usually meet in Schluntz gym because the kids love to throw the ball around, run back and forth or sit in the bleachers on the sidelines and just talk,” Casal said. “Then we usually have another classroom where students can go play a board game or color.”
Club members have had the opportunity to engage in both inside and outside school events, like a Friendsgiving and a Best Buddies Snowball dance in Dedham. This year, the club has asked the student council for funding in order to do similar activities. Spunt hopes that these activities will bring together other clubs and Buddies.
“I would love to do a cookie decorating event and possibly invite other clubs that are also focused on advocating for disability awareness,” Spunt said. “I’m hoping to do that before the end of the year.”
As the prospect of new club leaders emerges for next year, Miller-Culver hopes that the club will continue to grow stronger and larger.
“One of our goals is to recruit more people to join Best Buddies,” Miller-Culver said. “It’s a fun club and even if you don’t know anything about kids in special ed, you can just come and join, we’re always looking for new members.”
In her time as a club member and president, Spunt has learned about the power of friendship. According to Spunt, she looks forward to seeing her fellow club members and they are just as excited to see her.
“The way I interact with my friends is the same way I’d interact with people in the club,” Spunt said. “They’re just such great people, so I hope that people come and can make those friendships, because I think it’s really meaningful to you and also really meaningful to them.”
