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Fern Creek is first High School in Kentucky with Best Buddies Chapter

Posted on Aug 25, 2010 at 9:07 am by Developer.

 

For Immediate Release -- Fern Creek Traditional High School in Louisville will be the first high school in Kentucky to have a Best Buddies chapter.  Best Buddies is a one-to-one matching friendship program in which high school students without intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are matched with high school students with IDD.  Fern Creek’s Best Buddies chapter will match 20 students with IDD with buddies and recruit additional students as associate members for group activities and service projects.

 

 

Fern Creek Principal Dr. Houston Barber remarks, “We are honored to be chosen as the very first high school in Kentucky to offer the Best Buddies program to our students.  We are thrilled to provide such a great social integration program which will benefit not only our Functional Mental Disabilities (FMD) students but will open the eyes of all of our students to focus on the abilities and not the disabilities of their peers.”

 

Since 1989, Best Buddies International has been a worldwide nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with IDD through one-to-one friendship, leadership development, and jobs programs.  However, Best Buddies just started operations in Kentucky in the summer of 2009 with programs in ten colleges throughout the state, including the University of Louisville.

 

University of Louisville President, Dr. James Ramsey, who is also a Fern Creek High  alumnus, said, “UofL is excited about our school’s involvement with Best Buddies and is proud of our students who have embraced the program’s mission of social inclusion for people with disabilities.  I look forward to watching the Fern Creek and UofL Best Buddies chapters partner together to make a difference in the Louisville community.”

 

Dr. Ramsey’s father, 92-year-old John Ramsey, who is a former Fern Creek teacher, basketball coach and alumnus helped make the chapter opening possible with a significant financial contribution.  In addition, GE – Appliances & Lighting stepped up with grant funding to make it happen.  Ann Scalfi, Director at GE – Appliances & Lighting and Best Buddies Advisory Board member comments, “GE – Appliances & Lighting has made a significant commitment to funding leadership programs in JCPS schools, and the Best Buddies program is just another avenue for strengthening students’ leadership skills and motivating them to use those skills to make a difference in the world in which they live.”

 

The Best Buddies chapter at Fern Creek Traditional High School will be entirely student-led with an executive committee made up of both students with and without IDD.  The chapter plans on have recruitment events in September and a matching party as soon as October.  They will also be participating in some Best Buddies fundraising events in the Fern Creek area such as …. Sponsored by Republic Bank.

 

Fern Creek is a Communications, Media and the Arts school with a rich history as the first high school in Jefferson County. Fern Creek  serves more than 1,400 students. 

 

For more information on Best Buddies Kentucky, please visit www.bestbuddieskentucky.org and for more information on Fern Creek Traditional High School, please visit www.fcths.com.