Thank you for participating in this year’s Champion of the Year event! Because of you, we were able to raise funds to sustain and help expand our Best Buddies programs in the area. We look forward to having you at next year’s event. With your help and support, our mission of inclusion lives on!
Our Champion of the Year candidates have a variety of personal and professional backgrounds, and we see new types of Champions every year! What brings them together is their compassion, motivation, and desire to make a difference in their community.
Know someone who might make a great Champion? Nominate them below, and a local Best Buddies staff member will connect with them to discuss the nomination! (P.S. don’t hesitate to nominate yourself either!)
I said yes to being a Champion this year because it’s an awesome opportunity for me to spread the news about Best Buddies. Best Buddies is all about friendship and helping people, so I wanted to be a part of that. Everyone deserves to feel included and have friends. The more people who know about Best Buddies, the better our state will be!– Asher Ward, 2022 Best Buddies International Champion of the Year
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.
Best Buddies Champion of the Year is a competitive fundraising campaign that unites and recognizes leaders of inclusion in local communities nationwide.
Champion Candidates commit to raising funds and awareness for Best Buddies throughout their campaign. Our Champions advocate for the Best Buddies mission and will generate countless opportunities for friendships, jobs, and leadership development. At the Best Buddies Champion of the Year celebration, we honor the Champions’ collective impact and name the ultimate Champion of the Year!
Our Champions truly epitomize the word “Champion” itself. This select group of leaders raises millions of dollars for Best Buddies annually, and they impact their local programs in an extraordinary and unprecedented way. While they compete for weeks, we revere their commitment to inclusion forever and lean on their wisdom to guide future Champions.
Champions
Million Raised
Alabama
Anna Moates & Eleese Anthony
$23,000.00
Arizona
Kinsey Sullivan
$96,671.17
California: Bay Area
Kevin Lint
$31,851
California: Los Angeles
Carlos Lopezleon
$25,000
California: San Diego
AJ Arciniega
$15,231
Connecticut
Abby Senich and Christine Sullivan
$25,000.00
Delaware
Samuel Burbank
$6,300.00
Florida: North Florida
Kayla Sharp
$98,490.00
Florida: Orlando
Rob’s Rockstars (Rob Concelman, Leesa Stone, Marissa Nelson and John Nelson)
$85,000.00
Florida: Palm Beach
Marc Pintel & Stephen Shore
$23,273.02
Florida: South Florida
Michelle Kligman and Carolina Rousell
$55,094
Florida: Southwest Florida
Laura Georgelos & Mission Partner, Daughter Tori
$20,580.00
Florida: Tampa Bay
Dean Valenti with Mission Partner: Joshua Felder
$45,000.00
Georgia
Callaghan Finnegan and Kennedy Baldini
$37,000
Hawaii
Brian Yano and Ho’opi’ookalani Balaz
$24,000
Illinois: Central Illinois
Marcus Jackson
$21,292
Illinois: Chicago
Sophie Greene
$45,400.00
Indiana
RJ Zeph & Matt Stapleton
$49,037.00
Iowa
Kimberly Krantz
$50,900.00
Kentucky
Meghan Strite and Cam Brian
$19,402.00
Maine
Lauren Weber
$42,000.00
Maryland
Julia Goldsmith
$11,400.00
Michigan
Sarah Ridley
$16,000.00
Minnesota
Patrick Elmore & Jessica Scheu
$68,000.00
Mountain (CO & UT)
Lloyd Lewis
$29,184.00
Nevada
Camille Herd & Gabi
$35,000.00
New Hampshire
Meagan Baron & her Mission Partner, Ian
$30,000.00
New Jersey
Angela Andrews
$99,207.00
New Mexico
Terry Casey
$10,258.00
Western New York
Caroline Hewitt
$6,725.00
New York: Albany
Trinity Hogben & Meg Phelps
$10,000.00
North Carolina
Stephen and Avery Day
$15,000.00
Ohio: Cleveland
Kate Scovil
$44,000.00
Ohio: Columbus
Alex Rogers & Sharla Thomas
$30,000.00
Oklahoma
Asher Ward
$123,000.00
Oregon
Katie Campbell
$50,000.00
Pennsylvania: Philadelphia
Jason & Teddy Anderson
$20,000.00
Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh
Megan Defebo
South Carolina
Knox Hudson
$94,158.00
Tennessee
JohnThomas Atema
$98,513.00
Texas: Houston
Jordyn Ensell
$79,075.00
Texas: North Texas
Chris Boult & Annemarie Carrigan
$80,850.00
Washington
Marykylie Cranford
$25,000
Washington, DC
Jaxson Zimmerman
$8,773.00
Wisconsin
Madison Dettmann & Amelia Jennings
$10,000