We Are Ridge is a Marriotts Ridge club that aims to help students with a variety of disabilities feel welcome and included despite their differences. Originally named Best Buddies, the club’s membership has grown rapidly at Marriotts Ridge, being known for its inclusivity and welcoming environment.
“The mission is to make sure all buddies have a friend to reach, so when they’re lonely or don’t have something to do, they have someone to contact or reach out to talk to or hangout with,” explained senior and club member Quinn Jenkins.
We Are Ridge started as the Buddies Program in 2007 and then evolved into Best Buddies in 2017. Throughout the years, the club has focused on the goal of fostering friendships among students, looking past students’ differences.
When the club was formerly known as Best Buddies, it was under strict guidelines regarding what the club could spend their money on and the activities they could participate in. Although Best Buddies has become a well known nationwide organization, We Are Ridge hopes to build on their own mission creating friendships that will last a lifetime.
“Best Buddies is a big organization that funds schools to run the club, but if you run the club under that name you have to follow their guidelines, which are really precise about how schools use their money or the funding they give you,” explained senior and executive board member Conie Torres-Milano.
Despite the established and well known name that Best Buddies carries, We Are Ridge decided that in order to properly build a caring and nurturing club environment they would need to be able to decide how the club runs itself on their own.
“What I enjoy most of all is being part of the creative activities our board members put together for their peers. We Are Ridge has improved the school environment overall [and] the community has become more inclusive and culturally acceptable,” stated club advisor Mrs. Dean.
The club centers itself around building relationships through activities that create a warm and welcoming environment for the buddies. Buddies are members of the club who may experience difficulties finding friends in school and join the club as a way to find and meet new people. Club members and peers are assigned a buddy who they keep all year round.
“I’ve hung out with my best buddy, Nick Frett, outside of school and have gone to his house and his tree house,” stated Jenkins.
Due to the growing popularity and membership of the club, many buddies have more than one person they are assigned to. When club members get assigned a buddy, they do their activities with them and oftentimes are paired with them when the club does gift giving. This enables both buddies and other club members to further grow their friendships and community.
“The Christmas party was probably the most fun thing I’ve done so far this year…getting to see people I’ve never met before, and getting to see people I already know. At the end of the day it’s like being part of a family in school,” exclaimed senior and buddy Will Ashbaugh.
Members are acquired in a variety of ways to connect with a vast range of students, mainly through promoting the club by word of mouth or through their instagram, mrhs.weareridge.
Many see the club only growing more popular throughout the years due to its welcoming and friendly environment for all.
“I see the club only getting bigger because more and more people are willing to do it and see the impact it has on the buddies,” said Jenkins.
We are Ridge has continued to thrive through fostering inclusivity and connections among students, leaving an impact on the community and setting the stage for the club’s continued growth and impact in the years to come.