Best Buddies Walk

In modern society’s progression towards equality and inclusion, recent generations consistently demonstrate and popularize progressive concepts in the media. However, advocacy in the media does not indicate the issue of inequality as resolved. Additional advancement in social reforms involves activism in different areas, such as non-profit organizations. Efforts contributing to inclusion and equality persist, such as Best Buddies International, established in 1989 by Anthony K. Shriver. Creating inclusive living opportunities without borders and inviting individuals of all backgrounds and traits to participate in forming friendships, integrating employment, and leadership development remains Best Buddies mission. On April 22, 2023, the Best Buddies Club hosted their annual Friendship Walk. The event took place at Kellogg Zaher Park from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. A fundraising goal set for fifty-thousand dollars dedicated to improvement and expansion of programs offered through Best Buddies reached high expectations and currently consists of over forty-four thousand dollars. This year’s walk included around 500 registered walkers and sponsors from Findlay Toyota, Jersey Mikes, Bridgelink, Vegas Golden Knights Foundation, EoS Fitness, and many more.

This day of inclusion and friendship invited friends from all over to participate, specifically special emcee’s Jody Yap and Emmy award winning TV host Courtney Perna who shared their journey and values as friends.

Perna shared her experience after being paired with Jody Yap, “We were matched in October of 2018, and became immediate friends. First event we went to was the Game Lover Champion of the year, which by the way I lost, I got second place. But that’s okay because the girl who beat me was awesome, and from there we’ve just been buddies. It was tougher during the pandemic, but we still managed to see each other as much as we could. We hang out, we like to go shopping, eating, and dancing.”

Yap describes her friendship with Perna expressively, “Our friendship is really amazing and awesome and I love my buddy. We go to the movies and out to eat and to concerts and we went to the Cowabunga Christmas event.”

Perna voiced her excitement towards hosting the event as the main emcee,  “I just love being back involved with Best Buddies because during the pandemic everything slowed down, but I heard we have more than 500 walkers today, so it’s gonna be a lot of energy. It’s kind of exploded, that just tells me that everyone else is just excited to get back involved and to be back together with our friends because it truly is a friendship, we’re not just buddies underneath the organization, we’re truly friends.”

Upon entering the event, vibrant volunteers and staff excitedly welcomed each person directing them towards registration or event tables keeping the overall area organized. Food and beverages accompanied by music from DJ Kelly were accessible to each registered walker. Activities such as a bouncy house, games, and picture ops contributed to the upbeat and friendly atmosphere. Supporters of all ages began to gather and the opening ceremony, which included speeches from top donators as well as warm up exercises instructed by EoS Fitness trainers, began at 11:45. The cheerful staff, volunteers, and walking participants were not the only lively individuals seen engaging in the event as guest appearances from performers such as an imitation Elvis on stilts, Spruce the Goose, and The Vegas Golden Knight and UNLV cheerleaders appeared.

Best Buddies representative color, purple, along with white balloons decorated the starting and ending points of the walk. The anticipation of the walk ended at 12 p.m. when participants began lining up. Volunteers adorned the sides of the walking path motivating and cheering the participating walkers. High spirits persisted throughout the walk and through the heat of the sun with everyone determined to make it to the finish line. As the world’s largest organization dedicated to ending social, physical, and economical isolation the Best Buddies organization successfully hosted this year’s annual friendship walk, increasing their participation from last year and expecting to expand globally advocating their key pillars of one-to-one friendship, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living.