Best Buddies Club at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School had their first lunch party of the year on Sept. 30; the goal was for everyone to meet one another and pick their “buddy” pairs for the year. Lunch parties are monthly for Best Buddies and occur in Best Buddies sponsor and ESE specialist Gail Saltzman’s room.

Best Buddies attempts to promote inclusion for all students and is an international organization. The club is a way to form one-on-one friendships with developmentally or intellectually disabled students.

“The goal of this lunch party was to introduce the members to the buddies,” senior and Best Buddies President Sophia Golberg said. “Those that chose to be peer buddies had the chance to decide which buddy they wanted to be paired up with.”

The buddies will meet several times this year, as Best Buddies has a variety of events planned for the rest of the year. This includes the annual Halloween party on Oct. 25, an ugly sweater party in December and an ice skating event for sometime later in the year.