On every Friday of each month, students gather in room 212 to eat lunch and to spend quality time with one another with the best buddies club. Best Buddies is an organization dedicated to helping students with intellectual and developmental disabilities to enjoy inclusion, to learn about careers, and to develop leadership qualities.
Sierra Vista welcomes Best Buddies for the 2025-26 school year, their first year as a club. The organization spans across the United States and forty-five different countries over six out of the seven continents. Best Buddies brings positivity to Sierra Vista by providing all students with a safe space to have fun and make friends without the fear of being isolated or judged. The club participates in an event called the “Friendship Walk”, which takes place towards the end of the school year. The event aims to raise money, awareness and help to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Best Buddies club looks to raise enough money to host a Spring Ball.
In November, Best Buddies held a “friendsgiving buddy match”, a yearly event they host where students match up with their best buddy and make matching friendship bracelets. After students match with their buddy, they can hang out, watch movies, or get food. Multiple outstanding students, including Alexis Cruz(11), Annielene Soriano(12), Jaden Armas (12), and Razmia Yousif(12) run Best Buddies. The deputy director of programs and operations, Michele Vogan, explains, “A highlight of this club is seeing the kids being able to make friends and be themselves. The goal is to bring inclusion and acceptance”.
In the future, Best Buddies hopes to become an even larger club with increased popularity and participation. With increased participation, Best Buddies will be able to raise more money, host more events, and spread its positivity across the SVHS community. Best Buddies is more than a club; it is a family that spreads friendship, positivity, and inclusion across the world.
