unites and recognizes the community’s most active leaders in the name of inclusion.
November 8, 2023
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM | Rancho Santa Fe, CA
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Thank You!!!
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!
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!

Auctioneer: Ellen Toscano – The Singing Auctioneer
Graduate from NYU, 10-year principal performer in San Francisco’s “Beach Blanket Babylon,” recording artist and Benefit Auctioneer & Fundraising Consultant extraordinaire!
Schedule
November 8, 2023
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Location
Fairbanks Ranch Country Club
15150 San Dieguito Rd,
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
Parking: There is a free lot at the venue. ADA and VIP parking is located in the rows closest to the clubhouse entrances.
Dress Code: Attire is semi-formal. We encourage all guests to celebrate our theme, “Find Your Inner Champion,” and showcase the colorways of the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics games; fuschia pink, light blue, aqua, violet, yellow and green.
This year’s Champion of the Year venue, Fairbanks Ranch Country Club, served as one of the sites of the equestrian competitions!
Event Contact

Picture by Lee Hernandez of Grand Champion AJ alongside Mission Partners and Best Friends, Nick and Jordan
Congrats to our 2022 San Diego Champion of the Year
AJ Arciniega
Raised $15,231 for Best Buddies in San Diego
Click here for our Nationwide Champion Winners
A Glimpse of the Party…

Why Participate...
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.