By Jeffrey Heng and Mary Wolters, Staff Reporters
On Wednesday, Nov. 29, the Best Buddies club, part of the nonprofit organization Best Buddies International which aims to end social and physical isolation of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, hosted its first Game Night fundraiser to raise money for future events. Club members, parents and other students spent the night playing various card and board games together in Conestoga’s cafeteria.
“This is our very first year doing the Game Night fundraiser, so we wanted to find a way to involve more families to come in and get to meet each other,” club adviser Madison Galanti said. “We also invited middle school families to come so that the students from the middle school would be able to get a little taste of what Best Buddies is like, so they have an idea when they come up to the high school.”
At the event, adult volunteers ran a table selling water, soda, chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, brownies, Bundtinis and soft pretzels. Club members, or Buddies, sat at the game stations, which were displayed on the tables with colorful tablecloths and large place cards. Some of the games offered included chess, Apples to Apples, Jenga, The Game of Life, Connect 4, Uno and Guess Who.
“We decided to do games (for the fundraiser) because it brings everybody together and kind of sparks more conversations,” Galanti said. “We wanted to make sure that people were able to speak to each other, engage and create more friendships, and get to know each other more. It’s kind of the whole point of Best Buddies.”
The co-presidents sold admission tickets for $5, as well as lanyards and bracelets for $1 at a reception table. Senior and Best Buddies co-president Sophie Kunsch said that the purpose of the night was to fund field trips and other opportunities for the club.
“Obviously, it is helping raise money for the club, but (it’s) also for inclusion in our community and getting everybody involved in Best Buddies,” Kunsch said.
The Best Buddies club has held fundraisers in the past, but the Game Night was one of its first larger events, according to the co-presidents. Club members are hopeful to plan similar, bigger events for the community.
“This is a good turnout, and I think we’ve received a lot of good feedback so far,” said senior and Best Buddies co-president Shannon McDonough. “We definitely plan on doing more things like this in the future.”
Check out some photos from the event below!
Jeffrey Heng can be reached at [email protected].
Mary Wolters can be reached at [email protected].
