Best Buddies gets an early holiday gift from TELUS

Inclusion program gets $15,000 grant to build friendships

West Vancouver Secondary students Natasha Hodgson, Anna Barton, Naomi Brown join Best Buddies program manager Amy Lynn Taylor and Phil Bates, of TELUS at the cheque presentation and holiday party.

Vancouver, Dec. 12, 2011 – Best Buddies Canada will have an extra merry Christmas this year, thanks to a donation from TELUS Vancouver Community Board. The company donated a $15,000 grant to the national volunteer program, money that will be used to help strengthen the program in the Vancouver area and across the country.

“At TELUS we have a commitment to give where we live and are proud to support community initiatives that promote inclusiveness and celebrate diversity,” said Phil Bates, TELUS senior vice-president of Customer Service. “The positive, social opportunities that Best Buddies enables for students living with intellectual disabilities are inspirational and the TELUS Vancouver Community Board is thrilled to give $15,000 to expand programming to even more Vancouver youth.”

On Monday, Dec. 12, Students at West Vancouver Secondary School were joined by Phil Bates, Senior Vice President, Consumer Client Services, as they celebrated the holidays, inclusion and friendship with a holiday party. Bates presented the grant cheque to Best Buddies program manager Amy Lynn Taylor, and in turn was given a special Christmas ornament decorated by one of the chapter members.

"Our student volunteers in Vancouver are really committed to the program, and to the importance of inclusion," explained Amy Lynn Taylor, Program Manager of Best Buddies. "When we get extra community support from companies like TELUS, it really helps keep the volunteers encouraged, and helps our program grow."

Best Buddies – Vrais Copains Canada is a national charitable organization dedicated to enhancing our communities through one-to-one friendships between students with and without intellectual disabilities. Best Buddies is grounded in the belief that friendship is important to the development of everyone and that for all people with intellectual disabilities friendship is a medium through which they can become a part of their communities. Best Buddies at West Vancouver Secondary School has been a strong part of the national program for four years, and is an exemplar for other Best Buddies chapters in British Columbia and across the country.