Connecting through inclusion; Best Buddies helps bridge the gap between campus and community

Two stick figures holding hands. Art by Basil Allen.

Most of Willamette University’s clubs do not interact outside of the “Willamette bubble,” which is a term used colloquially to refer to the absolute focus WU students have on their college campus and not the surrounding area. Best Buddies, on the other hand, focuses on the surrounding Salem area, aiming to build connections between Willamette students and people with intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD). Though the club is in its early days, opportunities are already being offered to the Willamette community to get involved beyond campus.

Best Buddies is a program that operates internationally and is dedicated to bridging the gap between people with IDD and those without. They specialize in establishing one-to-one friendships between the two groups, promoting inclusivity through these social connections. In a middle or high school setting, this would involve matches between students enrolled at the school, but since Willamette’s chapter is at the collegiate level, outside collaborations are required. The club’s executive team secured a local relationship with Direct Support Personnel Connections (DSP Connections). DSP Connections shares a similar mission with Best Buddies, aiming to provide an inclusive and supportive community for individuals with IDD.

Wright got the inspiration to start the club from his cousin, who is a person with IDD that joined the Best Buddies chapter at Western Washington University. After witnessing the effect that belonging the organization had for her, President Nolan Wright (’26) noted, “That's really why I started Best Buddies [at Willamette], to offer opportunities for people like my cousin to come in and meet people [at the university] as well as for [students] to meet people like my cousin.”

Wright was also prompted to start Best Buddies at Willamette to help students break the campus bubble after he noticed how “we all go to school here [at Willamette], but it sometimes feels like we are not connected to the community outside of campus.”

Since Willamette’s chapter has just opened its doors during the fall 2024 term, direct one-to-one friendships have not been established yet, but the club hopes to make a first round of pairings in the fall term of 2025. However, there have been a plethora of other activities facilitated by Willamette’s Best Buddies chapter, each a fun community-building experience built to establish an inclusive environment. Some of these activities have included a dance party, bowling, and even a coffee social at the Bistro; each event included individuals with IDD that were able to join up with the club through DSP Connections. Club executive members host at least one event per month and aim to make every activity fun and exciting in order to make the most out of every connection. 

The club is also providing other opportunities for community members in a partnership with Candelaria Elementary. Through this collaboration, students have the opportunity to meet with children with IDD and help tutor them in math, as well as facilitate fun classroom activities

Willamette’s Best Buddies chapter hopes to expand its membership in the next academic year to heighten the impact that its efforts will have on the surrounding community. Wright hopes the club becomes “a space where you can just be yourself, an hour a day where you can forget about the homework you should be doing,” as well as one that can take students out of Willamette’s social bubble and help them connect on a deeper level to Salem’s community.