LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor
Since 2004

Tag: Best Buddies International

  • Best Buddies Friendship Walk 2024

    Best Buddies Friendship Walk 2024

    Let’s change the world for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD)

    April 13, 2024

    10:30 AM | Hamilton, OH

    The Best Buddies Friendship Walk is the leading event in the country supporting inclusion for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and you can join us in HAMILTON on April 13th at Marcum Park!

    The event is free to join. Register at: 

    https://www.bestbuddiesfriendshipwalk.org/cincinnati.

    Join 50,000 participants at 70+ Walks across the globe to support the Best Buddies programs in schools, workplaces, and communities. You’ll be making the world more welcoming to people with IDD — one friendship, one job, and one life-changing connection at a time.

    FIND A WALKER

    FIND A TEAM

    FIND A FAMILY

    DONATE

    WATCH LAST YEAR’S WALK VIDEO BY LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV

    THE BEST BUDDIES MISSION

    Best Buddies International is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, inclusive living and family support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

    Who We Serve

    The IDD community that Best Buddies serves includes, but is not limited to, people and families with Down syndrome, autism, Fragile X, Williams syndrome, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and other undiagnosed disabilities.

    Programs

    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 (IDD). Our programs empower the special abilities of people and families with IDD by helping them form meaningful friendships with their peers, secure successful jobs, live independently, improve public speaking, self-advocacy and communication skills, and feel valued by society.

  • Cassie Mattia’s red carpet interview with movie star Joshua Felder

    Cassie Mattia’s red carpet interview with movie star Joshua Felder

    Managing Editor) David Miller (right) and Josh Felder at the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities 2023 Community Recognition Awards.

    by David Miller

    “Interviewing Josh on the red carpet was a fantastic opportunity for our community to see via Facebook Live – what kind of a person Josh is. I think what he had to say was important for everyone to hear and quite frankly was inspirational,” Cassie told me after the interview.

    Joshua Felder was one of the leading actors in the recently released movie Champions, starring Woody Harrelson, and was the keynote speaker at the 2023 Community Recognition Awards gala put on by the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities (BCBDD) on September 28.

    Champions is the story about a Des Moines, Iowa young adult basketball team whose players all have developmental disabilities. Joshua played the role of Darius. The film stars Woody Harrelson as an unpredictable, minor-league basketball coach who after an arrest for drinking while driving and hitting a police car was ordered to coach a team of players with intellectual disabilities as community service. By the way, Harrelson is a 1979 graduate of Lebanon High School.

    Cassie also told me that having Josh as their keynote speaker for the awards ceremony and getting the chance to spend time with him while he was in Hamilton was something she will always treasure. Besides the on-air interview, Cassie was also able to spend the day with him and her cohorts as he toured the city and learned about the things BCBDD does. “Josh is definitely going to achieve big things in his life. What a great role model for many many individuals out there,” she said.

    In the movie, Joshua plays Darius, the teammate who had a promising basketball career before he was involved in a terrible car accident caused by a drunk driver and ended up with brain damage. He refuses to play for Harrelson’s team. However after getting to know the new coach, Darius realized he needed to be able to forgive the woman who hit him and the character played by Harrelson and decided to join the team that went to the Special Olympics finals in Winnipeg.

    In real life, Joshua is a Global Ambassador and is on the International Board of Directors for Best Buddies International. He was the first person with a disability to be a dancer in a Super Bowl halftime show. He appeared with The Weeknd and was featured in a Showtime Original, which outlined the making of the Super Bowl LV Halftime Show. Additionally, Joshua was featured on CBS This Morning with Gayle King. Joshua has “high-functioning” autism.

    Cassie, besides being the president and co-owner of Loveland Magazine is the Public Relations Coordinator for the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities and was given the responsibility to do interviews on the red carpet as guest celebrities arrived for the the Hollywood-themed annual awards celebration.

    Cassie continued, “Planning and putting on an annual event like the Community Recognition Awards can be tough, but after you see the results of the awards and how the event brings the community together is truly the icing on the cake.”

    I attended the event to be inspired by the award winners, meet a star in what is now one of my all-time favorite movies, and volunteer to record videos and take still photos for Cassie and the BCBDD.

    Cassie Mattia interviewing movie star Joshua Felder.

    Josh said that while he toured Hamilton he was glad he finally got to stand under the famous Alexander Hamilton statue. He picked up a Joe Burrow jersey even while proclaiming he a “forever” Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan and enjoyed Skyline Chili.

    According to Cassie, “Josh is an incredible advocate for the DD community and is living proof of what someone with a developmental disability can achieve.”

    Thank you Josh and Cassie for the lessons you teach me and your exciting inspiration.

    Savannah Guthrie, Woody Harrelson, and members of the cast of “Champions” talk about the bond they made during the production of the movie Champions.

    I encourage you to view the BCBDD story with other highlights of their 2023 Community Recognition Awards“Hollywood” style gala.

    The Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities supports over 3,700 people to live, work, and learn successfully in their community. Supports and services are available life-long through contracts with partner agencies or directly provided by the Board.

     

    If you believe that you, someone in your family, or someone you know might benefit from a local DD Board, here are some links:

    Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services

    Warren County Board of Developmental Disabilities

    Clermont County Board of Developmental DisabilitiesBest Buddies International is a dynamic and growing organization, thanks to the people who help advance its mission every day. From the Board of Directors to the summer interns, everyone on the Best Buddies team shares their energy and enthusiasm as they work to enhance the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

     

  • BestBuddies in Ohio to Host Friendship Walk in Southwest Region

    BestBuddies in Ohio to Host Friendship Walk in Southwest Region

    by Cassie Mattia

    Best Buddies International, a groundbreaking nonprofit founded in 1989 by Anthony K. Shriver to establish a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), has announced that the Best Buddies Friendship Walk will take place April 22, 2023, at Marcum Park in Hamilton for the second time in Southwest Ohio.

    Since 2009 more than 250,000 participants have walked in over 60 cities and raised more than $24 million for Best Buddies. 

    The Friendship Walk is coming together out of a need for funding in Southwest Ohio. Program numbers have grown significantly, creating a need for more support.

    “Our Friendship Walks are one of Best Buddies’ most celebrated events, bringing communities together where they can experience our mission in action and engage with our program participants,” said Anthony K. Shriver, Founder, Chairman & CEO of Best Buddies International. “I am beyond grateful that the important work of this organization will continue, thanks to our participants, volunteers, partners, and the entire community. I am confident that we will continue empowering people with special abilities, connecting advocates, and mobilizing our supporters to create a more inclusive world.”

    Best Buddies in Ohio anticipates more than 100 participants lacing up their shoes to walk for inclusion, all working to surpass the 2023 fundraising goal of $35,000. Registration begins at 10:30 AM, and the Walk commences at 11:15 AM at Marcum Park, 116 Dayton Street in Hamilton.

    Following the Walk, please join Best Buddies for a day of fun, family, wellness, and friendship. 

    Proceeds from the Friendship Walk are fundamental in supporting state programs that provide one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living. These programs can be found in all 50 states and will create promising opportunities for more than 350,000 people this year.

    Walk for inclusion. Walk for friendship. Walk for a better Southwest Ohio! 

    ABOUT BEST BUDDIES INTERNATIONAL:

    Best Buddies® is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development and inclusive living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

    Founded in 1989 by Anthony K. Shriver, Best Buddies is a vibrant organization that has grown from one original chapter to nearly 2,900 middle school, high school, and college chapters worldwide.

    Today, Best Buddies’ nine formal programs — Middle Schools, High Schools, Colleges, Citizens, e-Buddies®, Jobs, Ambassadors, Promoters, and Inclusive Living— engage participants in each of the 50 states and in 56 countries, positively impacting the lives of nearly 700,000 people with and without disabilities around the world.

    In many cases, due to their involvement with Best Buddies, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities secure rewarding jobs, live on their own, become inspirational leaders, and make lifelong friendships.

    For more information, please visit www.bestbuddies.org/ohio, www.facebook.com/bestbuddiesohio, or www.twitter.com/bestbuddiesohio. 

    For more information about the Best Buddies Friendship Walk and/or media inquiries, please contact:

    Catlin Skufca
    614.928.3383
    catlinskufca@bestbuddies.org