Katy Area Students Win Best Buddies International Award
KATY MAGAZINE
July 22, 2018
By Jennifer Skelton
The Seven Lakes Spartans received international recognition and won Overall Outstanding program for their participation in the Best Buddies program.
Best Buddies is the world’s largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They establish global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development.
In July participants from Seven Lakes High School including President Reagan Kallina and Co-Vice President Tania Swain and their buddies flew to Indiana for the 2018 International Best Buddies Conference, where they received international recognition and won Overall Outstanding Program for their school.
This is not the first year that Seven Lakes has taken home awards for their work in the Best Buddies program. In 2016 and 2017, they were awarded Outstanding High School Chapter in Texas. In 2017, the chapter was also awarded the National Pacesetter Award and was ranked in the top 15 chapters in the nation for fundraising.
All Katy ISD high school’s have Best Buddies programs. Both participants and volunteers benefit from the program, with the participants often choosing college and career paths that specialize in Special Education or a related field.
In order for a student to volunteer with the program, they must meet certain criteria along with go through an interview process. If chosen, the commitment is for one school year.
“Receiving these awards is such a testament to the truly life changing impacts of Best Buddies! It is so humbling to be recognized on such a large scale but more than anything, empowering to be able to see how big of a difference our organization can make in the lives of our peers and our community,” states Anna Celeste Fedewa, former President.
You can request information about Best Buddies at your campus by phone.
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