This article appears courtesy of the Springfield Republican.
December 16, 2007 -- Sunday Republican
By Diane Lederman
AMHERST - For Elizabeth B. Woolf, having a Best Buddy for two years is a way for her to get to know people she "might not be friends with."
For Camille S. Owens, "you learn a lot of about different ways of communicating."
The pair, vice president and president of the Best Buddies chapter at the Amherst Regional High School, respectively, have been members of the club since 9th grade.
"It’s fun to have these kinds of relationships," said Woolf, 17. Both were leading the group’s monthly planning meeting recently in which they were talking about various kinds of group events, such as seeing the new Harry Potter movie on video and baking cookies.
The program, with chapters in 32 countries and 350,000 participants, is intended to enhance the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by pairing them with others who don’t have such disabilities. The buddies go to the movies or hang out and just talk.
Owens, 17, and also a junior, said this is the second year she has been buddies with Scotty Phillips of Irving. In the beginning it was a little difficult, but the more time they spent together the better the relationship.
"You might be uncomfortable in the beginning" she said, but part of the program is "you learn to work with some people you might not be (used to working with.)"
Besides the monthly meetings, the pairs commit to meeting twice a month and have some kind of contact weekly, said Matthew M. Andrews of Pelham, the Best Buddies program supervisor for Western Massachusetts.
He said Amherst has a pretty strong chapter, especially with Owens and Woolf continuing to lead the group. The chapter here started in 2001.
He said typically people with disabilities can be segregated, but this is one way they can be included in typical social activities. And he said for people such as Owens, "she is going to remember this the rest of her life."
Plus, he said, there’s a need for special education teachers in this county, and the program is a way to potentially lure some students into the field.
Evan J. Coleman, an 18-year-old senior, is paired with Neil M. Stewart, a 16-year-old junior.
Coleman said it’s taken a little while to establish a relationship but thinks now they’ll be able to do some things, and the pair planned to see "Beowulf."
"It’s really fun to meet people" that he doesn’t usually get to meet in his classes. Stewart said he liked "just being with friends and stuff."
Samuel B. Jackson, a 16-year-old junior, said "it’s a good experience. It benefits both of the buddies. It’s a lot of fun, it helps you gain perspectives on different people’s roles in the world," plus, he said it helps him understand people with disabilities.
His buddy Pierre Sealy, a first-year student, likes to go to the movies, "any kind of movie." And he also likes to watch them at home. He said having Jackson for a buddy is fun.