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Best Buddies Champion of the YearBest Buddies Champion of the Year
Best Buddies Champion of the YearBest Buddies Champion of the Year
  • About Champions
    • Nominate a Champion
    • Circle of Champions
    • FAQ
    • Find Other Events
  • About Best Buddies
  • RSVP
  • Donate
    • Support a Champion
    • General Event Donation
  • Login

HOMECOMING: Champion of the Year Gala

unites and recognizes the community’s most active leaders in the name of inclusion.

December 2,2022

6:00 PM | Washington, D.C.

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large group photo taken at the event

THANK YOU!

Our Best Buddies Homecoming Dance and Champion of the Year Gala was so much fun! Thank you to our entire community for celebrating with us! With your help and along with the generosity of our supporters, we raised $172,000 in essential funds to grow our programs in Virginia and D.C. We look forward to continuing to transform our communities through inclusion. Together we are creating opportunities for inclusion and meaningful lives for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in our community.

We are proud to announce our 2022 Top Champion of the Year: Jaxson Zimmerman!

___

Best Buddies in Virginia & DC will be hosting our HOMECOMING-Champions Gala, back in person(!) with our students and supporters this year.  This event raises critical funds for Best Buddies programs throughout the Capital Region.  Best Buddies HOMECOMING-Champions Gala will be held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC on the evening of December 2, 2022.

The event will combine our Champions of Inclusion competition that celebrates emerging leaders throughout the Virginia & Washington, DC community and a Homecoming Dance for our Best Buddies students – held for the first time since PROM in 2019!

We are expecting over 300 supporters and 500 Best Buddies students at this exciting combined-event. Adults will enjoy a Silent and Live Auction with enticing items from area restaurants, local museums, spas, inns, theaters and more.  While guests bid on auction items and enjoy music and drinks, they will savor tasty dishes from a select group of favorite Washington DC Metropolitan area restaurants with chefs teaming up with Buddies Sous Chefs to serve their signature dishes, including: Bourbon Steak, Carmine’s, Founding Farmers, Good Stuff Eatery, Lebanese Taverna, Mayflower, Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center Executive Chef, Stellina and Taco Bamba.

The evening will culminate in the naming the ultimate CHAMPION of the YEAR for Virginia & Washington DC. Throughout the evening, Best Buddies students will dance the night away at their Homecoming Dance with DJ, pizza, fun and friendship!

Our Champions are advocates for the Best Buddies mission and their multi-week campaigns generate countless opportunities for friendships, jobs, leadership development and inclusive living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). At the campaign’s conclusion, we will celebrate at the Best Buddies Homecoming: Champions Gala to honor the Champions’ collective impact and name the ultimate Champion of the Year!

We hope to raise $210,000 at this event – all funds will be used locally to support Virginia & DC Best Buddies programs and participants. You can support Best Buddies and continue to provide these meaningful opportunities to people with IDD by supporting a Champion’s campaign, purchasing tickets, becoming a corporate sponsor, or making a general donation to the cause.

We hope you’ll join the inclusion movement and join us on December 2nd for a fun, thrilling and friendship-filled event!

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Auction

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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!

Schedule

Friday, December 2, 2022

Program for the Adult Party:
6:00pm-7:45pm: Silent Auction, Open Bar, Chef & Buddy Sous Chef Tasting Stations
8:00pm-10:00pm:  Live Auction, Introduction of Champions, Diane Ray Brown Lifetime of Friendship Award sponsored by Tiffany & Co., Mission Moments & Naming of THE Champion of the Year.

Program for Student Homecoming Dance:
6:00pm-10:00pm:  Dancing, Music with DJ 24/7, Pizza, Photo Booths and Fun!

Location

Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20004

Directions & Information for the Ronald Reagan Building
We recommend that everyone arrive via the 14th Street Entrance – view directions

Event Contact

mollywhalen@bestbuddies.org

Meet our 2022 Champion Candidates…

Nominate a Champion

Jaxson Zimmerman

Congrats to our 2022 VADC Champion of the Year

 

Jaxson Zimmerman

Raised $8,773 for Best Buddies in VADC

 

Click here for our Nationwide Champion Winners

A Glimpse of the Party…

  • Enthusiastic Best Buddy participant at podium giving a speech
  • Male Buddy Pair at podium giving a speech
  • Group of three gala attendees smiling for the camera
  • Gala attendees holding up auction bid signs
  • Group of gala attendee smiling for the camera
  • Female champion candidate standing next to her campaign manager
  • Female Buddy Pair on stage with their hands in the air in celebration
  • Best Buddies participant in formal attire and sunglasses striking a pose
Best Buddies logo

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.

Learn More
Frequently Asked Questions
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We Love our Sponsors!

Presenting Sponsor

Ronald Regan Building and International Trade Center & TCMA logos

Additional Sponsors

  • Tiffany and co logo
  • Capital one logo
  • Deloitte logo
  • National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation logo
  • Holland & Knight
  • Alto
  • Byrd Strategies
  • JointMedOps
  • Real Fun DC
  • Carmines logo
  • Good Stuff Eatery
  • Stellina Pizzaria
  • Bourbon steak logo
  • Taco Bamba
  • founding farmers logo
  • mayflower logo
  • Buckle Sweet logo
  • O'Donnell Law Firm

For sponsorship opportunities and other event inquiries, please contact:

mollywhalen@bestbuddies.org