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- October Buddy Beat
Hey there, Best Buddies Delaware family! 🎃👻 Get ready to dive into the spooktacular October edition of "Buddy Beat"! 🍂 get comfy, grab a pumpkin spice latte, and join us for chat about all things BB Delaware. In this edition, we've got the lowdown on our star-studded Champion of the Year Gala, some inside scoop on our fantastic staff, the latest buzz from our local leadership training day, and of course, plenty of useful info for our school programs and fellow citizens. So, let's jump right in and catch up on the autumn action together! 🎃🍁
It’s officially GALA SEASON! We have 5 AMAZING Champion Nominees currently competing in a friendly fundraising competition. The best part about it, it’s a silent competition. So basically, no-one knows who's in lead. The competition will end at the end of the gala where our new Champion of the Year will be crowned. All of the funds raised go directly toward supporting Delaware’s programs and we couldn’t be more thankful for everyone’s support so far.
These five nominees have been hard at work raising money for Best Buddies Delaware in efforts to win our Champion of the Year award on October 13th.
 | Robert England - Robbie is part of our Best Buddies Bank of America Chapter. He has been part of Best Buddies for over ten years and is a former Champion of the Year winner. Robbie has been matched with his buddy Brian for 10 years! |
Margaret Henning - Maggie is one of Best Buddies Delaware’s incredible Community Leaders. She was crowned the DE Difference Maker at this year’s Friendship Walk because of the incredible difference she has made in BBDE in just one year. Maggie is matched Val, they will be matched one year in December. |  |
 | Sade Sotilleo - Sade is the Chapter President at John Dickinson High. She is new to Best Buddies, just joining at the end of last school year. Sade had the opportunity to join us in Indiana for Best Buddies Leadership Conference in July which grew her love and passion for advocating for individuals with IDD and Best Buddies. |
Kenneth Sugathan - Ken is part of our adult Citizen’s program. He has participated in Best Buddies as both the college and adult level and also attended our Leadership Conference as a state ambassador! Ken is a great public speaker who is passionate about spreading awareness and advocating for individuals with IDD. |  |
 | Brianna Wolfle - Bri has been involved with Best Buddies since college where she was the Vice President of UD’s chapter. She now works for Best Buddies as the Deputy Director of Programs for Best Buddies Pennsylvania. Though Bri works in PA, she lives in Delaware and participates in our citizens program where she is matched with her buddy, Ben! |
We are still looking for silent auction items and sponsors, please reach out to [email protected] with any questions!
STAFF UPDATE
We have an exciting staff update for you all! Our Lead Program Manager, Ellie Townsend was recently promoted to Area Director of Delaware!
“My time as a Program Manager with Best Buddies in Delaware has been nothing short of amazing,” Townsend said. “Connecting with our school chapters and citizens program has been incredibly rewarding, and I’ve truly loved every moment. I’m now eagerly looking forward to my new role as Area Director, where I’m committed to further developing our programs, network, and opportunities for individuals with IDD in our community.”
You may have noticed a new face on our update, that face is new to Delaware but not new to Best Buddies. Anne Motley is originally from Alabama and first joined Best Buddies as a volunteer in 2004 at Auburn University. She was the president of Auburn’s Best Buddies chapter for the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school years. In 2007, Anne graduated from Auburn and moved to Houston to work for Best Buddies Texas. She worked for the Texas office for 10 years before transitioning to the National Expansion team.
Anne has served in a variety of programmatic and development positions within Best Buddies and returned to her absolute favorite role in 2021: Program Manager, National Expansion. Anne still lives in Texas with her husband, baby girl, and Boston Terrier. She is excited to work alongside Ellie to support the Best Buddies Delaware’s School Friendship chapters. Anne looks forward to working with all of our wonderful Best Buddies DE volunteers and growing our programmatic impact.
Anne will be helping us out in DE remotely from Texas, so make sure you wish her a big Delaware Hello!!!
On Saturday, September 30 we hosted our Local Leadership Training Day at Goldey Beacom College. We had 9 student leaders, 6 advisors, and 2 community leaders come together to talk all things Best Buddies. Our leaders prepared for the new year, learned best practices, and collaborated with other amazing chapter leaders right here in Delaware. We are already looking forward to our next training: Back to Best Buddies!
Reminder: Memberships and Matches are due in BB360 by November 1st!
Do you want to become a better interviewer? Do you need help crafting your perfect elevator pitch? Do you just like learning new things? Join us at BNY Mellon on October 11th at 2:30pm. RSVP is mandatory as there are limited spots available. We hope to see you there!
We are hosting a Halloween Party with our friends at Bright Minds Forward. The event will be on UD’s campus (specific location provided once you RSVP.) Wear your costumes, bring a friend, and get ready to partyyyy!
As always, we need volunteers. We have tons of options available, please reach out to [email protected] for more information on how you can get involved!