Nazareth Best Buddies Club Receives National Fundraising Award
Nazareth College’s Best Buddies Club was recognized with a national award for raising nearly $15,000 for the group’s annual Friendship Walk. While at the Best Buddies Leadership Conference at Indiana University-Bloomington, the group earned a top national fundraiser award beating out schools four times the size like the University of South Florida.
Seven Nazareth representatives traveled to Indiana to the international conference in July to learn important skills to becoming leaders and advocates for change and inclusion in their community.
“This is an incredible award and it shows how inclusive our small campus has become in terms of people of all abilities,” said Jaxon Smith, ‘19, who recently graduated from Nazareth. “While at Nazareth I was the president of the Best Buddies Club. In only three years, we’ve worked to make Nazareth an inclusive place free of discrimination for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”
Many different countries and representatives from all 50 states attend the conference. Best Buddies International is a 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 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
Nazareth University is an inclusive community of inspired learners, educators, and changemakers who for nearly 100 years have been driven by a bold commitment to action, empathy, equity, and leading innovation for the common good. Impact experiences are at the heart of a Nazareth education, preparing each student to discover within themselves the potential to cultivate positive change in their life's work, in any career field, and in a world that is constantly evolving and infinitely interconnected.
Our broad academic offerings present a range of study options typical of larger universities, yet achieved in our supportive campus culture. Nearly 2,100 undergrad and 600 graduate students enroll in degree and certificate programs and engage in collaborative, transformative learning experiences, preparing for the professions and society of today and tomorrow. In a learning community that purposefully integrates liberal arts and professional programs, Nazareth University graduates are able to launch a lifetime of impactful leadership in communities and workplaces near and far.
Jaxon Smith | Spanish ‘19, Miranda Hughes | Occupational Therapy ‘22, Maddie McIntee | Communication Sciences and Disorders ‘22, Jessica Riley | Inclusive Child/Childhood Education and Sociology, Maricela Perez | LifePrep@Naz ‘19, and Simon Aldrich | LifePrep@Naz ‘20 and Alex Aquino LifePrep@Naz '20 (not pictured) traveled to Indiana University Bloomington in late July for the International Best Buddies Leadership Conference.