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
Lillian Hill
$11,000.00+
Arizona
Kailey Sullivan
California: Bay Area
BJ White
$31,795
California: Los Angeles
Kristen Van Handel
$66,000
California: San Diego
AJ Arciniega
$15,231
Connecticut
Matt Davies & Val Sobol
$16,000.00
Delaware
Brianna Wolfle & Ben Moulder
$10,900.00
Florida: North Florida
Kayla Sharp
$98,490.00
Florida: Orlando
Fabio Zacco & Marvin Fung
$46,613.00
Florida: Palm Beach
Marc Pintel & Stephen Shore
$23,273.02
Florida: South Florida
Michelle Kligman and Carolina Rousell
$55,094
Florida: Southwest Florida
David Elkins with Mission Partner Julie Lyle
$7,585
Florida: Tampa Bay
Laura Greary
$33,410.00
Georgia
Andrew Dixon
$58,000
Hawaii
Brian Yano and Ho’opi’ookalani Balaz
$24,000
Illinois: Central Illinois
Beth Hayes
$23,520
Illinois: Chicago
Victoria Hill
$50,000.00
Indiana
Reid Brenton, Champion & Pete Steinkamp, Mission Partner
$69.950.07
Iowa
Kimberly Krantz
$50,900.00
Kentucky
Ami Cain and Cam Brian
$17,415.00
Maine
Fiona MacArthur and Mission Partner, Payton Brown
$52,000.00
Maryland
Julia Goldsmith
$11,400.00
Michigan
Nick Paruch and John Wyskiel
$69,500.00
Minnesota
Sara Messerli and mission partner, Maggie Erickson
$44,216.00
Mountain (CO & UT)
Lloyd Lewis & Kennedy Lewis
$31,248.93
Nevada
Camille Herd & Gabi
$35,000.00
New Hampshire
Jennifer Corriveau and her Mission Partner James Masterson
$49,371.19
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
Katie Kilmek
$65,000.00
Ohio: Columbus
Alex Rogers & Sharla Thomas
$20,000.00
Oklahoma
Asher Ward
$123,000.00
Oregon
Kendall Campbell
$44,000.00
Pennsylvania: Philadelphia
Ashley Long
$9,159.00
Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh
Megan Defebo
South Carolina
Knox Hudson
$94,158.00
Tennessee
JohnThomas Atema
$98,513.00
Texas: Houston
Jordyn Ensell and her Mission Partner Juliette Molloy
$83,974.72
Texas: North Texas
Chris Boult & Annemarie Carrigan
$80,850.00
Washington
Courtney Block
$45,000
Washington, DC
Champions of the Year Rose, Dave and Reilly Donovan
$64,850.00
Wisconsin
Madison Dettmann & Amelia Jennings
$36,000