On January 9, Riverdale eighth graders were partnered up with their new best buddy. After introducing themselves to their new friend, the games began.
On the tennis courts, even the teachers were excited to get to play with the rainbow parachute, and soon after, laughs could be heard all the way from the 
Riverdale students Amelia Reyna, Ruthie Schmit, and Jenna Ward shared that they were all so happy to get to spend time playing games with their best buddies, and now if they see them in the halls at school, they can say hello to their new friends.
Best Buddies is an organization that works to create friendships for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The partnership between Riverdale and Best Buddies is long standing, but the event yesterday was organized by Neyle Coppedge. She arranged for middle schoolers to have training to be able to learn about their best buddies like some of their favorite activities, snacks, books, and songs, and this helped them to build unique, individual connections.
