Best Buddies has had a busy couple of months with World Down Syndrome day and Autism Acceptance Month. The club continues to spread awareness and acceptance throughout the school.
On March 21, the Best Buddies board members planned ‘Rock Your Socks’ to raise awareness for Down Syndrome. On this day, students wore their craziest, most colorful, and mismatched socks. By wearing these socks, people symbolize the extra chromosome that causes Down Syndrome.
People who participated received a sticker and a donut. Best Buddies president, senior Mollie Fialcowitz, says, “The participation was amazing.” On Friday, throughout the school students everywhere were wearing their craziest socks. “So many people wore crazy socks which shows how supportive our school is,” says the senior.
Throughout the month of March, the word of this event was spread through social media, word of mouth, and posters in the hallways. “We posted on the track instagram page and the FCA page, which helped spread the word,” said Fialcowitz, “we also posted posters to have people see them,” she continued. Along with that, all the board members and members of Best Buddies spread the word throughout the school.
This event had many positive aspects and students showed so much excitement for this cause. “My favorite part of this event was that we had so many people show support and love,” said Fialcowitz.
Along with that the club also planned activities for Autism Acceptance Month. On April 2, national Autism Acceptance Day, students ‘blocked out the bullies’ by wearing a pair of sunglasses. “I actually saw the idea for Block Out the Bullies on the Havre De Grace best buddies instagram,” said board member junior Kendall Chandler. “They did it for World Down Syndrome Day and had a really great turnout, and I thought it would be a cool way to kick off Autism Acceptance Month at North Harford,” continued Chandler.
“The purpose of the event was to get students excited about Autism Acceptance Month and to promote acceptance and inclusion in our school,” stated the junior. By wearing sunglasses, students made it clear that bullying has no place at North Harford.
The club had to think a bit outside the box for advertising due to the Best Buddies Instagram account being suspended. “Even so we were able to use social media by partnering with other clubs and teams and asking them to participate and share the flyer on their instagrams,” explained Chandler. Varsity club, FCA, and the track team shared the flyer to spread the word about the event. “It was cool to see athletes from all of these groups wearing their sunglasses all day, even at practice,” said Chandler.
According to Chandler and her other Best Buddies board members, they feel the special day turned out very well. “It was such a joy to see students taking a stand and participating in our event,” said the junior. “I hope that we are able to do it again next year and have even more participation.”
