Champion of the Year
Unites and recognizes the community’s most active leaders in the name of inclusion. By devoting their passion, talents, and networks to Best Buddies through a philanthropic competition, our Champions lay the foundation for transformative change in their communities.Find a Campaign
Alabama
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Colorado
Delaware
Georgia
Hawaii
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Utah
Washington
Washington D.C.
Wisconsin
Supporting Local Programs
All funds raised benefit Best Buddies – the world’s largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Our programs empower the special abilities of people with IDD by helping them form meaningful friendships with their peers, secure successful jobs, live independently, improve public speaking, self-advocacy and communication skills, and feel valued by society. The IDD community that Best Buddies serves includes, but is not limited to, people with Down Syndrome, Autism, Fragile X, Williams Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, traumatic brain injury and other undiagnosed disabilities. .
Circle of Champions
Our 2023 Top 3
1 | $142,588.00
Tina Gulledge
South Carolina
2 | $137,401.45
Melissa Taylor
Palm Beach
3 | $117,048.00
Kaelyn Cassidy
North Florida
Our Nationwide Champion of the Year Winners
Congrats to our 2024 Alabama Champion of the Year
Jud Robinson & David Carter
Raised $40,619 for Best Buddies in Alabama
Alabama
Congrats to our 2024 Arizona Champion of the Year
Kendra Verdoni
Raised $138,755 for Best Buddies in Arizona
Arizona
Congrats to our 2024 Bay Area Champion of the Year
Ken Seto
Raised over $53,030 for Best Buddies in the Bay Area
California: Bay Area
Congrats to our 2024 Los Angeles Champion of the Year
Dana Schoppers
Raised over $29,000 for Best Buddies in Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Orange County!
California:Los Angeles
Congrats to our 2024 San Diego Champion of the Year
Meg Heidrick-Barnes
Raised $14,150 for Best Buddies in San Diego
California: San Diego
Congrats to our 2024 Sacramento Champion of the Year
Danielle Christy
Raised $39,470 for Best Buddies in Sacramento
California: Sacramento
Congrats to our 2024 Aspen Champion of the Year
Nicole VandeBoom
Raised $119,684.00 for Best Buddies in Aspen
Colorado: Aspen
Congrats to our 2023 Connecticut Champion of the Year
Dave Renker & Andrew White
Raised $38,000 for Best Buddies in Connecticut
Connecticut
Congrats to our 2024 Delaware Champion of the Year
Patrick Burns & Matt Planer
Raised $24,790 for Best Buddies in Delaware
Delaware
Congrats to our 2024 North Florida Champion of the Year
Hayden Davis
Raised $88,000 for Best Buddies in North Florida
North Florida
Congrats to our 2024 Orlando Champion of the Year
Melanie Gyorke & Justin Isaac
Raised $48,754 for Best Buddies in Orlando
Orlando
Congrats to our 2024 Palm Beach Champion of the Year
Sarah Morgan & Ronin Nance
Raised $246,665 for Best Buddies in Palm Beach
Florida: Palm Beach
Congrats to our 2024 South Florida Champion of the Year
Linda Rinaldi
Raised $68,200 for Best Buddies in South Florida
Florida: South Florida
Congrats to our 2024 Tampa Bay Champion of the Year
Michael & SanDee Jakubik
Raised $67,000 for Best Buddies in Tampa Bay
Florida: Tampa Bay
Congrats to our 2023 Southwest Florida Champion of the Year
Alabama
Congrats to our 2023 Broward Champion of the Year
Raised $33,410 for Best Buddies in Broward
Florida: Broward
Congrats to our 2024 Georgia Champion of the Year
Hannah Jenkins & Martha Haythorn
Raised $22,000 for Best Buddies in Georgia
Georgia
Congrats to our 2024 Illinois Champion of the Year
Joey O’Brien
Raised $64,137 for Best Buddies in Central Illinois
Illinois: Central Illinois
Congrats to our 2024 Chicago Champion of the Year
Nicole Marty
Raised $111,818.73 for Best Buddies in Chicago
Illinois: Chicago
Congrats to our 2024 Indiana Champion of the Year
Donna Simerly & Michael Wheeler
Raised $45,943 for Best Buddies in Indiana
Indiana
Congrats to our 2024 Iowa Champion of the Year
Brina Bily
Raised $15,950 for Best Buddies in Iowa
Iowa
Congrats to our 2024 Kentucky Champion of the Year
Mark Pfieffer, Layla Peirman and Brayden Schindler
Raised $40,000 for Best Buddies in Kentucky
Kentucky
Congrats to our 2024 Maine Champion of the Year
Ellie Clifford and Caitlin Williams
Raised $64,000.00 for Best Buddies in Maine. In total, we raised $300,000!
Maine
Congrats to our 2024 Maryland Champion of the Year
Mary Snowdon
Raised $23,687 for Best Buddies in Maryland
Maryland
Congrats to our 2024 Michigan Champion of the Year
Alexis Fisher
Raised $26,291.00 for Best Buddies in Michigan
Michigan
Congrats to our 2024 Minnesota Champion of the Year
Maureen Cahill & Amelie Wall
Raised $50,124 for Best Buddies in Minnesota
Minnesota
Congrats to our 2024 St. Louis Champion of the Year
Bennett Baur & Ned McLean
Raised $55,867 for Best Buddies in St. Louis
Missouri: St. Louis
Congrats to our 2024 Nevada Champion of the Year
Jill Occhiuto
Raised $46,368 for Best Buddies in Nevada
Nevada
Congrats to our 2024 New Hampshire Champion of the Year
Mandi Emery
Raised $31,450 for Best Buddies in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
Congrats to our 2024 Seacoast Champion of the Year
Bob Leyman and Lauren Hoepp
Raised $10,233 for Best Buddies in Seacoast
New Hampshire: Seacoast
Congrats to our 2024 New Jersey Champion of the Year
Kristen Beriloff
Raised $23,267 for Best Buddies in New Jersey
New Jersey
Congrats to our 2024 New Mexico Champion of the Year
Michelle Roybal
Raised $7,907 for Best Buddies in New Mexico
New Mexico
Congrats to our 2024 Western NY Champion of the Year
Team Dave Nicchitta and Katie Frost
Raised $3,715 for Best Buddies in Western NY
New York: Western NY
Congrats to our 2024 Albany Champion of the Year
Caroline Orr and Teagan Klingenberg
Raised $12,700 for Best Buddies in Albany
New York: Albany
Congrats to our 2023 North Carolina Champion of the Year
Sarah Richardson
Raised $45,000 for Best Buddies in North Carolina
North Carolina
Congrats to our 2024 Ohio Champion of the Year
Jackie Wise
Raised $83,000 for Best Buddies in Ohio
Ohio: Cleveland
Congrats to our 2024 Columbus Champion of the Year
Sue LeDonne Girardi & Julie Panzera Mission Partner: Joey Tullis
In photo (Left to right): Sharla Thomas, Alex Rgers (Gala Co-Chairs), Joey Tullis, Sue LeDonne Girardi (not photoed: Julie Panzera)
Raised $23,816 for Best Buddies in Columbus
Ohio: Columbus
Congrats to our 2024 Oklahoma Champion of the Year
Melanie Pleasant
Raised $37,100 for Best Buddies in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Congrats to our 2024 Oregon Champion of the Year
The Campbell Family
Raised $24,000 for Best Buddies in Oregon
Oregon
Congrats to our 2024 Philadelphia Champion of the Year
Randy Hope Steen
Raised $11,084 for Best Buddies in Philadelphia
Pennsylvania: Philadelphia
Congrats to our 2024 Pittsburgh Champion of the Year
Lindley Diecks
Raised $72,688 for Best Buddies in Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh
Congrats to our 2024 South Carolina Champion of the Year
Meredith Conner
Raised $178,927 for Best Buddies in South Carolina
South Carolina
Congrats to our 2023 Nashville Champion of the Year
Steph DeSantis
Raised $105,745 for Best Buddies in Nashville
Tennessee: Nashville
Congrats to our 2024 Houston Champion of the Year
Jack Krueger & Kevin Harkel
Raised $126,605 for Best Buddies in Houston
Houston
Congrats to our 2024 North Texas Champion of the Year
Annemarie Carrigan
Raised $55,209 for Best Buddies in North Texas
Texas: North Texas
Congrats to our 2024 Central Texas Champion of the Year
Livi and Annabel Fitzgerald and William Suter
Raised $104,712 for Best Buddies in Central Texas
Texas: Central Texas
Congrats to our 2024 Washington Champion of the Year
Maddy McCrosky and David Franklin
Raised $30,000 for Best Buddies in Washington
Washington
Congrats to our 2024 Washington, DC Champion of the Year
Sheila Stabile & Jaxson Zimmerman
Raised $81,980 for Best Buddies in Washington, DC
Washington, DC
Congrats to our 2024 Wisconsin Champion of the Year
Jennifer Walkowiak
Raised $35,992 for Best Buddies in Wisconsin
Wisconsin