Out of the 79 Maryland Best Buddies programs that work to pair students with intellectual disabilities with peers to develop friendships, senior Maddy Goldberg was named the chapter president of the year this April.

“I know that there are so many wonderful presidents throughout the state who work really hard, so it was such an honor to be recognized,” she said.

According to their website, Best Buddies, which was founded in 1989, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose goal is to establish a global volunteer movement that helps form chances for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Best Buddies has established almost 1,700 chapters in middle school, high school and colleges around the world and their eight formal programs benefit almost 800,000 people. Those students who volunteer with Best Buddies for free provide services that would add up to $168 million if they were all paid for their work.  

“Maddy is an incredibly hard worker and her enthusiasm for Best Buddies is felt throughout the chapter. She has been an incredible friend to her buddies over the years and her compassion has made her stand out a great example of a peer buddy,” said Best Buddies sponsor and science teacher Rebecca McGaffin.

This year, Goldberg has helped to organize chapter events such as a Halloween dance, a bonfire, bowling, a “Spread the word to end the word” event that worked  to end the use of the derogatory “r” word (retarded) and a scavenger hunt. She has organized and motivated officers, peer buddies and associate buddies and helped to make sure that everyone knows what is going on and feels included in the events.

“[My favorite part of Best Buddies is] just seeing the really great friendships and changed attitudes that come out of Best Buddies. I feel like there is a lot more acceptance at WJ because of it. So many people are willing to help out and contribute to improving the chapter,” said Goldberg, who joined the chapter her freshman year and became an officer her sophomore year. “We actually have [many] more members than there are buddies because so many people want to be involved.”

WJ’s chapter has about 20 peer buddies and 3o associate members. Students who act as peer buddies in the program are paired with a student with special needs, and are expected to hang out with the buddy at least twice a month and contact them at least once a week. They are also expected to attend a monthly chapter meeting and events. Students can also serve as associate members who are not assigned to a specific buddy, but are encouraged to get to know all of the students in the chapter as well as attend all meetings and events.

“I think [Best Buddies] stretches students. I think many kids are scared in general of making friends with someone different than them. [Best Buddies provides] an opportunity to take a risk, and most students find it very worthwhile,” said McGaffin.

The work of McGaffin and Goldberg payed off when Goldberg was named president of the year.

“I was definitely pleasantly surprised to get the award.  I’ve worked really hard for Best Buddies so it was nice to see it pay off,” said Goldberg.