The Redhawk Best Buddies chapter took part in the organization’s annual Friendship Walk on the school’s track on Saturday, an event that nationwide featured more than 150,000 participants in more than 60 different cities.

Despite being limited to the number of participants allowed, chapter Social Advisor and junior  Marcela Pedron believes that the community walk was successful in relaying the club’s inclusive values. 

“It was so much fun,” Pedron said via email. “I saw some people who weren’t a part of Best Buddies, which was nice because we got to show them how awesome this club is.”

Breaking away from the drive-by walk hosted by Best Buddies International, the chapter’s officers were forced to take planning into their own hands. 

“Since Best Buddies International usually plans everything and sets it up, we had to plan a lot more,” Pedron said. “We had to think about food, music, games, things to do, etc, which isn’t something we would have to think about in years past.”

According to President Paige Ripberger, though the course of the year made event planning unique and challenging, the payoff exceeded all expectations. 

“I was extremely happy with the event and the great turnout we had,” she said. “Based on this year’s attendance at other events, we were expecting a lot less people, but I was both surprised and excited to see so many people out to support Best Buddies.”

For club sponsor Cynthia Kays, it was a challenge to combine what Best Buddies is all about with social distancing guidelines.  

“We put a lot of effort into social distancing and school guidelines while still trying to gather as a community,” she said. “Because inclusion and distancing are polar opposites, it made combining the two a bit of a challenge. It was still a great, positive event. All activities were done with safety in mind.”