Welcome to the Best Buddies Interest Meeting!

Contact Information Club Advisor, Dr. Sugerman and Ms. Santiago President, Erica Strum Vice President, Hannah Levinson Vice President, Carolina Bou

What is Best Buddies? Best Buddies is an organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In context to high schools: Best Buddies seeks to create long-lasting friendships between typical high school students and students with disabilities.

Types of Membership Peer Buddy You’re paired with a student with special needs. You are expected to meet with your Buddy at least twice a month (club events included). They are the “Buddy” and you are the “Peer Buddy.” Associate Member You are not paired with a “Buddy.” You are still required to attend all events and meetings unless told otherwise. There is no difference to Peer Buddies and Associate Members except for whether or not they’re paired with a Buddy.

Being Matched ●Members who wish to become Peer Buddies and be matched with a Buddy can follow these steps: ○ Attend the September 10th ‘Speed Friendships’ event after school in the Cafeteria and get to know the Buddies ○ Attend the September 17th ‘Interviews’ the week after and conduct an interview with the officers. You can choose to recommend a match between you and a specific Buddy or you can leave it up to the officers to decide if you can’t make up your mind. ○ Meet your matched Buddy on September 24th, the ‘Match Party.’

Requirements for Membership There are 3 of them!

1. Membership Application All prospective members, new and returning, must fill out a Best Buddies Membership Application. ●Available online at cbhsbestbuddies.com on the Home Page ●Due by September 17th, 2014 at the Interviews in the Dell Lab or in room 310. An application is required to join Best Buddies. Failure to turn in an application will bar you from joining the club. After your application has been approved by the officers, you will receive a notification and you can proceed to the next two steps.

2. Membership Dues All members must pay membership dues of $25, payable: ●To room 310 with either cash or check ○Checks must be made out to “Cypress Bay High School.” Dues must be paid after the membership application has been approved by September 17th, exactly two weeks from today. What they cover: ●Membership to the Best Buddies chapter at Cypress Bay ●A club t-shirt ●Entry to all after-school and night events hosted by the club

3. Registration Online All students must register online as members at bestbuddiesonline.org ●Navigate to the ‘High School’ tab under “Membership Application” ●Fill out the required information ●Make sure to select Cypress Bay as your chapter school Once completed, your application will be sent to the officers to be approved. Registration must be completed by September 17th, exactly two weeks from now.

Once you have completed the three steps above... Congrats! You are now a member of the Best Buddies club at Cypress Bay!

Member Expectations ●Payment of dues and registration online ●Attendance at all meetings and events ●Participation in the Pizazz Pens fundraiser ●Have fun!

Fundraising ●Our club’s main source of funds come from our Pizazz Pens fundraiser. ●Pizazz Pens is a microenterprise created at Cypress Bay where Buddys can learn basic skills such as counting money/making change by selling pens on campus. ●Members are required to sell a minimum 5 pens at $2 each. A list of available pen designs are available on the website under “Pizazz Pens.” ●Orders placed must be turned in to room 310, where the pens can then be created at request.

Schedule ●General Meetings occur on the first Wednesday of every month unless specified otherwise. ●After-school and Night Events occur on average twice a month. ●Members are required to come to all events unless specified otherwise. ○ Mandatory attendance is needed due to the circumstances of this club. ●After two missed meetings/events, you will be contacted to see what’s up. ●A tentative schedule for each month will be posted online under the “Schedule” tab of the Best Buddies website before the start of every month.

Tentative Schedule for September 9/17 – APPLICATIONS ARE DUE AT THIS TIME – Turn in at interview. 9/17 – DUES ARE DUE BY THIS TIME – Pay by cash/check (made out to Cypress Bay High School) delivered to Room310 or at Interviews in the Dell Lab. 9/10 – Speed Friendships (Cafeteria) - Get to know the buddies of 2014/2015. This is an opportunity for members to decide what buddy they want to be paired with (if they’re Peer Buddies) or for Associate Members to get to know the buddies at Cypress Bay. 9/17 – Interviews (Dell Lab) – This interview process is for members interested in being matched with a buddy. This interview is for peer buddies only! 9/24 – Match Party (Library) – Peer buddies will meet with their matched buddies. Associate members must still attend this event!

Pow Wow – October 8th ●The Best Buddies Pow Wow is an seminar held in the auditorium where the officers and speakers will be giving some general guidelines and rules for interacting with students with disabilities. ●The purpose of this club is to make sure no one is put in an uncomfortable situation with their Buddy or with a Buddy at an event. ●The event is also open for questions, so if you’re unsure about anything, please do not hesitate to ask!

Casual Events ●In addition to on-campus, in-school events, we also host off-campus events. These events are not affiliated with the Best Buddies club, which means these events are optional for attendance. ●The purpose of these events is simply to provide you with more time to spend with the Buddies. ●You will be ed about these events (which will happen on average twice a month) as they get closer on the calendar.

Graduation Cords We offer graduation cords! The requirements are, by the time you graduate, to have one of the following: ●An officer position ●Two years of participation as a Peer Buddy ●Three years of participation as an Associate Member It may not count for anything in terms of achievements, but it’s just our way of saying thank you!

Remind 101!! Take out your cell phones!! Text (571) With the This is our easy way to remind you of our meetings and events

Follow us! Follow us on Instagram and Twitter

That’s all, folks! ●If you’re interested in joining the club, please fill out an application and return it at the Interviews on September 17 th (in two weeks!!). ●Tell your friends to join! ●We hope to see you all on September 10th for our Speed Friendships! ●Thank you all for coming!