Floral design and Frisco SAGE take part in Best Buddies mum donation

As+Homecoming+approaches%2C+students+are+beginning+to+purchase+mums+and+garters.+Mums+can+be+ordered+from+The+Mum+Shop+in+Plano.

Caroline Attmore

As Homecoming approaches, students are beginning to purchase mums and garters. Mums can be ordered from The Mum Shop in Plano.

Maya Silberman, Staff Reporter

Best Buddies passed out donated mums and garters on Thursday to Redhawks who receive special education services.

“Each year we have a set of mums and garters that we usually have donated,” Best Buddies president and junior Caroline Caruso said. “We give them to our students on campus with disabilities because we want to make sure that they are included in conversation and that they are able to celebrate with their fellow students.”

Cynthia Kays, one of the Best Buddies advisors, is appreciative of all the donations they have for their buddies this year.

“We have a great organization that helps support us, Frisco SAGE, along with some of our students from the Floral design class here at Liberty,” Kays said via email. “They spend much of their time and money to see that our students are included.  We could not do this without them.”

Floral design sophomore Malia Willingham jumped at the opportunity to use their handmade mums and garters to promote inclusivity on campus.

“I decided to donate my mum because I thought it was a great opportunity to make someone’s day by giving them the mum I made,” Willingham said. “It’s a great opportunity to put a smile on some of the kids’ faces and make them feel special with a mum made just for them.”

These mum and garter donations are just one of many ways that Best Buddies makes sure that all students on campus get a chance to take part in school spirit and activities.

“The donations help the students feel included, and that’s what Best Buddies is all about,” Caruso said. “Our club is based off those inclusivity principles, and something like homecoming is integral to the school and I think that our buddies are still a part of that.”

Overall, many on campus see these mum donations as a way for everyone to get to participate in the excitement of homecoming.

“I know homecoming’s a Texas thing,” Kays said. “However, you know that these donations are special when you get to see the reaction from a student when they wear their mum or garter.”