Exceptional Students named WE SEE YOU Award Recipients

by LISA WEISMAN

Kari and Andy

Best Buddies Wisconsin congratulates Kari Dolan, Middleton High School graduate; Whitney Kelly, Homestead High School graduate and Margaret (Maggie) Mills, Nicolet High School graduate on being the first recipients of the We See You Award.

This Award is the brain child of Best Buddies Wisconsin and the Ziemann Foundation as a means of recognizing exceptional students within a Best Buddies High School Chapter.

The award is open to both mainstream students and students with intellectual disabilities who are active members of their chapter, show exceptional commitment to their Best Buddies' friendship and to the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities.

Kari Dolan has been a member of Best Buddies for three years and was president of her chapter for the past two years. In her application, Kari commented that after her first chapter party she knew she would love the club and the people involved.

“I instantly made 20 new friends who were all giving me high-fives the next day at school and asking me when the next outing would be”, she said. Kari and her buddy Andy were featured in the 2009 Best Buddies calendar and were also featured in an article in the Middleton Times-Tribune last summer.

In his letter of recommendation, Kari's teacher commented that “I have lost count of the number of times I have teared up after seeing the Best Buddies caroling, carving pumpkins, bowling, or just hanging out in the cafeteria during lunch. She and the other members of Best Buddies are an inspiration to us all.”

Kari plans to attend Winona State and major in nursing.

Whitney and Jim

Whitney Kelly has been a Best Buddies chapter member at Homestead for the past three years and has served as both secretary and president of the Club.

She and her buddy, Jim, have been matched for the past two years and talk daily at school, on the phone or on the computer. Whitney attended the Best Buddies International Leadership Conference at Indiana University last summer where she was inspired by the immense role Best Buddies plays all over the globe.

She was featured in a “Good Kids Doing Good Things” column in the Ozaukee News Graphic and Youth of the Month from the Mequon-Thiensville Optimist Club. She plans to attend Boston College in the fall and pursue a career in law.

Margaret (Maggie) Mills has been a member of the Nicolet High School Best Buddies chapter for the past two years and served as president for the past year. She will be attending the College of Charleston in the fall and hopes to become a special education teacher. One of Maggie's advisors gave her the highest praise, hoping that “my nine-year-old daughter will someday grow up to be like Maggie”. Still, Maggie's strongest recommendation came from her buddy who wrote:

Daniel and Magie

“Maggie is always happy to see me. She is kind, caring and always makes time to visit with me. Maggie makes my feel happy. I know Maggie has lots of homework, but she always finds time for me. She is the best buddy ever.”

The Ziemann Foundation is a private family Foundation with a history of funding projects that promote the inclusion of people with disabilities. The mission of the foundation is to improve the quality of life for citizens with disabilities in southeastern Wisconsin.

A current focus of the Ziemann Foundation is to promote collaboration between non-profit agencies with similar missions, programs and/or consumers in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of each.

Cynthia Linnan, Vice President of the Ziemann Foundation commented: “The Ziemann Foundation has a history of funding pilot projects. We believe this three year grant for the We See You award program will resonate with Best Buddies programs in other states and will be easily replicated, bringing more visibility to the organization and its mission.” For more information on the Ziemann Foundation, go to www.fsrequests.com/ziemann.

Award winners will each receive a check for $1,000 along with an engraved picture frame to commemorate their accomplishment. Applications for the 2010 We See You Award will be available in October, 2009 and can be requested by contacting Best Buddies Wisconsin at Wisconsin@bestbuddies.org and putting We See You Award in the subject line.