On March 19, Best Buddies California was proud to host a Buddies Ambassadors training in the Bay Area. Buddies Ambassadors is the 7th and newest program of Best Buddies International. The program educates and empowers people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to be leaders and public speakers in their schools, communities, and workplaces.
A Buddies Ambassadors training comprises a full day of workshop activities led by Best Buddies staff. An Ambassador, or a person with IDD, is matched one-on-one with a volunteer Speech Coach. A Speech Coach may be a friend from the Ambassador’s Best Buddies chapter, or a community member from elsewhere. Together, the Ambassador and Speech Coach attend workshops, write and practice a speech. Workshop topics include public speaking techniques and how to draft an introduction, body and conclusion to a speech. At the end of the day, all Buddy Ambassadors deliver their speech to each other’s applause.
Best Buddies Ambassadors is the next step for the Disability Justice Movement, teaching people with IDD the skills they need to successfully advocate. Best Buddies Ambassadors prepares people with IDD to become active agents of change. For example, Gena Luna, client at the ARC of San Francisco, said that she could use speech-writing to prepare for her planning meetings for her Individual Person Plan. Gena also suggested using speech-writing to prepare for her visits to Sacramento, where she regularly attends protests against budget cuts to services for people with disabilities.
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| Buddy Ambassador Training Participants and Coaches |
Fourteen people overall participated in the workshop. Ambassadors attended from the ARC of San Francisco; Will C. Wood High School in Vacaville, California; and Campbell, California. Speech Coaches attended from the University of San Francisco, Berkeley High School, Alameda High School, and the greater San Francisco community.
The most emotional moment was assuredly the delivery of the speeches. All Ambassadors described the importance of Best Buddies and friendship in their lives:
· - With his father in the audience, Michael Wireman of Vacaville, California, shared the joy he takes in running and health
· - With his mother in the audience, Michael Kelley of Campbell, California spoke about his love for riding in the Best Buddies Hearst Castle Challenge
· - Gena Luna of San Francisco, California, talked about the importance of the ARC of San Francisco and self-advocacy
· -John Hammond of San Francisco, California, described his leadership role in coordinating events for the University of San Francisco’s chapter of Best Buddies
· -John Coulter of San Francisco, California, described his close friendship with his College Buddy, Kelsey McFarland
After the delivery of their speeches, all participants were awarded certificates of completion and honored as official Best Buddies’ Buddy Ambassadors. Certified Ambassadors can speak at Best Buddies events such as upcoming Best Buddies 5k Friendship Walk – San Francisco. John Coulter summed up the training best, stating, “I loved it.”
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| Participants were given Certificates of Completion |
[i] An IPP is a personal evaluation of the life history and goals of a person with an intellectual or developmental disability, developed over time with a consumer’s family and support staff.
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