Westside High School Chapter holds Disability Awareness Week
by DENISE BEN
Lead Program Manager | Best Buddies Texas
Westside High School hosted their first school wide Disability Awareness Week. This is a major accomplishment for a school only in its second year of existence as a Best Buddies chapter.
The project to hold the week long awareness event was overseen by Special Education Advisor Julie Hoffland. Julie is a tireless advocate for the social inclusion of student with intellectual disabilities and has spearheaded the development of the Best Buddies mission of friendship at Westside.
The Disability Awareness Week also included a launch of the Ban the “R-word” global campaign which is being celebrated during the month of March. Each day of the week Best Buddies Peer Buddies and Buddies worked a table set up in the commons to get students to sign a petition pledging to “support the elimination of the derogatory use of the r-word from everyday speech and promote the acceptance and inclusion of PEOPLE with intellectual disabilities.” The chapter was able to acquire 1,100 signatures on the petition to end the use of the R word!
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Join the ban the "R-word" campaign & make your pledge by clicking on the pic. |
Best Buddies members decorated and displayed posters around the school of varying designs, all promoting the message of “seeing the ability, not the disability” and “I see you” - an African mantra adopted by Best Buddies that expresses the acceptance and recognition of any and everyone as they are.
Westside kicked off an important time of year for Best Buddies with an amazing week of activities. Best Buddies Texas is proud of Westside and their initiative to bring acceptance and inclusion for students with intellectual disabilities to the Westside community. The chapter is a shining example to the more than sixty Best Buddies Texas chapters preparing their awareness campaigns this month.
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The Westside Best Buddies chapter. |
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