Best Buddies - UC Riverside

Bowling Event in October, 2007

2007-11-24T22:24:00.000-08:00

The UCR Best Buddies's members and their buddies are having a great time bowling . I really enjoy getting to know more about my best buddy, Nick. I am really happy to see that he is having fun bowling and playing video games at the arcade. It was a BLAST!

Best Buddies Matching Banquet

2007-10-13T22:15:00.000-07:00

The matching party was a success! Over half of our Riverside Project Team buddies are now part of Best Buddies. Everyone got to meet their buddies. I had a lot of fun getting to know my buddy, Nick. He is very sweet and genuine. I am really glad that he is my best buddy. Nick's favorite interests are watching movies, watching baseball games, playing basketball, and hanging at the mall. He enjoys attending school at Project Team. Also, he is really into horror films. The most recent film that Nick has seen is Resident Evil 3. I am really excite and eager to get to know and spend more time with my buddy, Nick.

Fun Times - October 20, 2007

2007-10-01T23:21:00.000-07:00

Richard and I had so much fun at the bowling alley. Richard is a fantastic bowler. I always lost to him. We played four games until we couldn't bowl anymore. I really enjoyed seeing Richard's laughter and fulfillment everytime he made a strike.

Best Buddies Bash - March 18, 2007

2007-03-19T00:12:00.000-07:00

Brian Ngo, Richard (my best buddy) and I are hanging out and watching the game at the Bash.

The Project Team Buddies were having a great time playing the game "HOT Potato" with other Project Team Buddies from different High Schools.

MOre Fun Times with the Buddies!!!

In this picture: UCR Buddies - Kevin Izquierdo, Annalisa, Kenneth

Project Team Buddies - Paul, Richard, Johnny and others...

MORE OF WHAT DISNEYLAND CAN OFFER!

2007-02-13T14:56:00.000-08:00

Febuary 11, 2007 : 7:30 am - 5:00 pm

Wow, Disneyland has always been my favorite place to spent the day at. IT'S EVEN BETTER NOW that I got a chance to spend it with everyone in Best Buddies. I got to hang out with my best buddy Richard along with the other buddies. My buddy really enjoyed some of the rides at Disneyland. He said he would spent the night there if he'd the chance. Moreover, Richard and his friend Darington really enjoyed the WACKY HATS we got them while we were checking out some of the shops at Disneyland. Brian and his buddy, Darington got to experience the log ride and Stars Wars experience together. I thought Disneyland was the Best Place to become BEST BUDDY WITH ANOTHER.

A Special Thank to Eldon, our Advisor and Supervisor of Progect
Team. Also, Kevin Izquierdo who is the president of Best Buddies. Thank you for planning the event.

Good times.

DISNEYLAND RECAP!!!!

2007-02-11T21:02:00.000-08:00

WOW What a blast! Well from what I can see this website has not been updated in a long time... Really what is with all these overlapping pictures? We really need someone to clean this place up... Hint...Hint.... Well the Disneyland trip was an absolute blast for those who came. We left at 8 am and returned at 6:30. It was great to spend time with my lovely and extremely hot girlfriend and hang out with two of my buds, Tomas and Johnny. I also consider my g/f sort of like a buddy too because she keeps getting lost like Johnny. Well not exactly. Johnny was better than all of us and we were really lucky to be paired up with him because he knew the park better than all of us combined. The day began with me falling asleep on the bus and my girlfriend taking pictures of me drooling on the window. I awoke at around 9 am at Disney land. We piled out into pouring rain and huddled around our few umbrellas, scarffed down some donuts and trotted of to Pirates of the Caribbean. A poor imitation of Jack Sparrow awaited us there who was busy flirting with college girls and taking photos with families. The haunted mansion and Indian Jones were our next rides. Haunted Mansion was ok but I got a bad case of whiplash from the Indiana Jones ride and I kind of wished afterwards I would have ditched it for some food like Johnny. Adventureland was great too. Johnny and Tomas drove and I got to sit in traffic in the bumper car lanes. Nothing ever changes in So Cal. The food was great also, I never thought I would pay so much for dorm food after college. Eating was entertaining too as I got to see 3 yr olds fight a really good Darth Vadar imitation and win every time. Darth Mall made an appearance as well except he didn't get cut in half like in Episode 1 (what a shame). If Disney pulled that off I would be back every year. After this Johnny got sick of Anita and I hugging and ditched us for Toon Town so we of course missed the 1 o'clock meeting at the castle but who really wanted to go anyways?? But there is nothing like a good college try! Toon Town would have been better if Goofy actually took time to take pictures with Johnny instead of flirting with his co-worker but at least our buddies got to see Mickey Mouse. Soon after Anita coaxed me into carrying her uphill so naturally my back was hurting so we decided to take a break on the steam ship and travel around the island in Adventure Land at 3 miles per hour. That was enough sitting down for me so I talked everyone into piling aboard a canoe where I tried to make Johnny wear an undersized life jacket. The canoe ship was the best part of the day. There is nothing like being in the open water and traveling with your own strength! Tomas also splashed water on me too. So much water landed on me that I was half soaked. But luckily we had to get back to the warm bus where I could dry off faster than the cold. It turned out to be a great day. Not to long and not to short. Perfect!And the donuts weren't exactly stale either... yum yum yum... By the way Anita got two...

I would liek to say thank you to all of those who put in so much hard work in preparing this fun activity! It was a great activity!

Sincerely,

Me

2 11 07 Disneyland Trip!

2007-02-11T20:16:00.000-08:00

Today's Disneyland Trip was really fun! I got to hang out with Tomas and Johnny and I got to see a lot of members from last year. It was also really nice to see that there were also other schools at Disneyland, including USC and CSUSD. Thank goodness there was a big bus to take all of us because our group was very big. I enjoy reconnecting with my friends from Best Buddies! Go Disability Awareness Day!

A Part of Best Buddies

2007-01-15T19:17:00.014-08:00

I had many fun times hanging out with my buddy. Best Buddies is one of the best experiences that I have ever had as a college student at UC Riverside. I really enjoyed interacting and spending times with my buddy because he is really friendly and one of the most honest friend that I have found. Even though he is intellectually disabled, he is not internally or integrity disabled. I have learned so much from my buddy that it is not only I that enhances his life on a one to one friendship, but it is also he that changed my life much more that anyone could have imagined.

2006/2007 Friendship Updates

2007-01-15T18:14:00.000-08:00

This year's friendship updates were very successful. Many of our members were able to fulfilled the mission of our club by enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and providing one on one friendships. It will be highly appreciated individually and nationally due to everyone's dedications and integrity to promote an humanitarian society such as Best Buddies.

Some of our dedicated and honorable members include:
Kevin Izquiero
Cassandra Forrest
Lena Jordan
Karisma Kothari
Andrew Pham

Thank you everyone for your dedication and kind heart.

Matching Party

2006-10-31T17:50:00.000-08:00

The matching party this year was held at the Old Spaghetti Factory. There was an awesome turnout and the college buddies got the chance to meet their buddies. Best Buddies is off to a running start this year with our next event coming up November 4th at Chuck E. Cheese!

--Pictures!!!--

Project TEAM Open House

2006-10-17T06:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Project TEAM had an open house. I saw several familiar faces including Trent, Johnny, Kevin O., Felix, and Paul. Johnny was really funny because I was mentioning to the parents that he was the President of Best Buddies for Project TEAM. Later Johnny told me that he feels like a President and that he had body guards. He is so hilarious! It was nice to see new faces too! I'm a little sad that Jade already graduated and that Mrs. Porter won't be around any more. Anways, take care everyone. See you at the banquet.

Block Party

2006-10-02T00:32:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

The UC Riverside Block Party was about a week ago. We set up a booth and sold root beer floats and recruited more members. We made some money and I hung out with Johnny most of the time. It was a good time. Johnny sure knows how to work a crowd. He helped us out a lot with recruiting. We split up and handed out flyers to everyone passing by. Johnny would give his entire stack of flyers away in what seemed like just a few seconds. He's fearless when it comes to talking to people. He sure likes the ladies, too. We walked around a bit while we had a break from the booth. Johnny and I ran into a lot of familiar faces. We eventually found an interactive booth where he was given the opportunity to throw a pie at a girl's face for only a $1.50. Johnny seemed to savor every moment of this pie throwing activity. Poor girl... haha!

Overall the Block Party was a success. Anna, our former College Buddy Director, came to help us out as well. It was good to see her again.

Special thanks to all the officers who came to help - Aimee, Drew, Karisma, Marisol, Janette, and Kieu!
Best Buddies Members Chris Tran and Heather Sipin helped out a ton as well. Thanks to them!

And of course, a big thanks to Johnny for helping us recruit and helping me to carry all the stuff back to my car from the Block Party. It was quite a job!

2006-09-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

Hey Friends!

How are you all doing? Anyways, did you all know that Best Buddies is now an official cause of Miss Teen USA, Miss USA, and Miss Universe? That's really great! Well, I hope everyone is doing well. I'ved talked to Eldon and some of the buddies and I learned that school has started for them for a while. I ran into a few buddies this summer. Good to see them! Well take care and good luck with your vacation!

Best Buddies on TV

2006-07-27T20:08:00.000-07:00

"Just a reminder to tune in to our national television broadcast of the Volvo Best Buddies Challenge: Hyannis Port. The show will air in all U.S. markets except Boston on NBC at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 29. WB56 Boston will air the show in Boston at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday August 5.

Hope you enjoy the show,"

Anthony K. Shriver

International Award

2006-07-24T11:24:00.000-07:00

Congratulations! Kevin found out at the International Leadership Conference on Saturday that we received the Outstanding Chapter Award (International Award)~! Congratulations everyone!

Bear Facts 2006!

2006-07-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

Bear Facts 2006!

Active Members of May!

2006-07-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

Active Members of May!

College Buddy Pair of May: Joon Nam (CB) and Robert Sweetwater (B)

Joon has been paired with Robert only since Spring Quarter, but I know that Robert loves this match! Joon and Robert talk on the phone frequently and have been a part of many one to one outings for Spring. Some of the things they have done together include the following: mall, Chinese food, visit Robert's mom at the hospital, and play video games. Joon is very good at returning phone calls from Robert and the officers! One of my officers regarded Joon as "a very responsible person." Besides this, Joon has been to our Spring meeting, emails me often, and updates me well. Splendid job Joon! I'm very positive that Robert really enjoys being friends with you because he is very happy when I mention you to him!

Robert has been a very active Buddy this year as well. He has been to the Spaghetti Factory Matching Social, the Halloween Party, the Ice Cream Social, the Christmas Party, the Best Buddies Dance, the Special Olymic Soccer Game, and many more events. His funny jokes make everyone laugh!

Active Associate Member of May: Adriana Gomez

Next, I would like to recognize Adriana Gomez for being the active associate of May~! She found out about Best Buddies through the presentation we made in Dr. Blacher's class. She donated soap and sponge for us to use during the Car Wash and she frequently calls me as well. Hugo really likes Adriana's company! The events that Adriana has participated in include the following......

April 2006
-Kid’s Relay Community Service April 30

May 2006
-Pool Party May 6
-Student Organization Awards at UCR May 18
-End of the Year Banquet May 21
-Benefit Concert Fundraiser May 25
-Meeting May 30

June 2006
-Car Wash Fundraiser June 3

Hugo

2006-07-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

Hugo called me today and told me how much he misses his good friend Tomas. He told me that he calls Tomas sometimes and he received a call from Johnny the other day. This summer, Hugo is not taking summer school, so he has been spending a lot of time relaxing. He can't wait to go back to school!

We decided that we want to go to bowling and go to the beach this summer.

Hugo says that he misses everybody in his school. He misses Eldon the most. He wishes he can see Eldon soon. He misses his friends Jason, Kevin O Donnell, Mayra, Jade, and David.

Since Hugo and Felix are friends, they visit each other frequently.

I wished Hugo could come over today, but he does not have a car, so I can't wait to see him next time we go out!

2006-06-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

Pictures Below.

The 1st and 2nd picture are of Hugo and Felix when we went shopping on Monday.

3rd picture-Fairmont Park on Memorial Day.

The rest of the pictures are of Hugo during his special day~!

Pictures of Hugo!

2006-06-21T12:55:00.000-07:00

Graduation 6 8 2006

2006-06-19T13:50:00.000-07:00

Hugo has the best smile and it was great to see Becky our program manager there!

Car Wash Pictures

2006-06-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

Extra End of Year Banquet Pictures

2006-06-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

Thank you Thi for emailing me these pictures...

-Anna

New Officers

2006-06-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

Hey!

Aimee Duarte, Andrew Pham, and Karisma Kothari have been successfully voted into their positions!

-Anna

Hello From Anna~!

2006-06-18T15:21:00.000-07:00

Hello! Congratulations to everyone, especially the buddies who graduated, the first year students at UCR who managed to finish their first year of study, and of course the graduates of UCR! This year was a really great year because I feel that I have many memories of Best Buddies that I will never forget. I have gotten close to Hugo and other people in Best Buddies! I know that Kevin will do such a great job next year because he has proven this quarter that he is a leader! The other day Johnny called me after my final and told me that he was at the Special Olympics in San Diego and that he saw Maria Shriver onstage. He is quite lucky..... I really enjoy the buddies' company whenever I come to project TEAM. Everyone gives me hugs~! When I went to the graduation, I surprised Hugo because I told him I wasn't sure that I was going. He was really happy to see me and always tells me that he will never forget me. I will never forget him either! During graduation, Jade walked by me and said, "Hi Anna!" Wow, Jade never really says hi to anyone, but since I have joined Best Buddies, she has really made me feel so special! I thank the buddies who always call me up, like David, Johnny, and Hugo. I hope that next year, Hugo and Tomas can still be a part of Best Buddies even though they have graduated! Since I'm free this summer, I'm planning to hang out with Hugo, Johnny, and Tomas. I'm planning on going to the beach with them. I really love hanging out with the buddies and having Hugo as my Best Buddy because they have given me so many experiences that I haven't experienced before if I wasn't their friend! Hugo means a lot to me and I will keep in touch! I won't forget him anytime soon.....

I will post pictures of the Car Wash and the Best Buddies Graduation soon. I will also send an end of the year email and an officer email soon.

See you at Bear Facts! Best Buddies rocks and you guys rock!~

Anna Nguyen

THANKS to everyone for a GREAT year!!

2006-06-15T09:09:00.000-07:00

Guess what all?!

I finished my last exam of my undergraduate career at 10 pm last night!!

I'm looking forward to graduation and, of course, the summer :) But, I'm definitely going to miss Riverside, especially all of our Best Buddies fun.

We've had great leadership this year, but I believe we had even better members! We couldn't have accomplished all we did without your commitment and involvement. The best part (for me, at least) is to hear the Buddies and their parents' excitement for the club. When I see them at Project TEAM or at events, they always tell me stories about what they do with their College Buddies. Sometimes, I drive a few Buddies home, and they always ask me when the next event is going to be!

And, of course, there wouldn't be Best Buddies without all the Buddies from Project TEAM!

A huge thanks to them, for being great people!! They always make my day.

Special shout-outs go to:

Robert, always entertaining with his one-man shows and bugging me about seeing my new tv;

David and Rachel, for giving me compliments every time I see them;

Josh, who always asks for a hug;

Johnny, for riding with me, just so I wouldn't have to drive by myself;

Hugo, who says "Hi" to me at every event;

Paul, for his genuine enthusiasm at every event;

and, of course, my three favorite girls:

Andrea, Jane, and Stacey, who laugh at all my jokes, and then laugh at me for no reason at all.

I hope I'll find friends as great as you all when I move to Missouri!

A special thanks for everyone who participated in our fundraising events. After the Benefit Concert and Car Wash, we EXCEEDED our goal of raising $2000.

Even better news, there's at least $300 to start Best Buddies out for 2006-7! Good luck to Kevin and his team of officers! I know you will all do a fantastic job!!

Signing off all my Treasurer duties to Karisma,

Stephanie

Hi

2006-06-13T04:30:00.000-07:00

This club is great!

Hi guys here some pix of Siena, Italy

2006-06-08T04:52:00.000-07:00

Venice

This is Pizza Del Campo in the middle of Siena.

Ciao from Italia

2006-06-08T04:35:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone back in Riverside,
Come stai? (how are you?) Wow, I've been in Siena, Italy for almost 3 months already and I'm about to go home soon. I wanted to congratulate all the senior members in the group for their up coming graduation. I feel that I am very lucky to be a part of such a wonderful and committed club. I want to thank all of buddies and other members for helping the club being so successful. But, most of all I want to give a hand out to all of the officers, especially President Anna and Secretary Stephanie, for all of the hard work and commitment that you guys have but into the club. See you guys back home at graduation. Good luck with all of your future plans. Whatever road you'll take I'll know that it will be a successful one and Best Buddies will always be in your heart. Buona fortuna! Arrivedeci!
Quynh Nguyen

Car Wash Event Tomorrow!

2006-06-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

Well the end of the year is here and the final event has finally come. Tomorrow is the first annual Best Buddies Car Wash and I hope everyone makes an appearance. More importantly, I hope plenty of people show up. I'm sure we won't have any problems. We will just need Anita to attract plenty of people to the car wash and we will do just fine. Remember to wear lots of sunblock! I also want to let everyone know that it has been a pleasure to be in this club. The officers are awesome and I think Anita is a fantastic president!

Active Members of March!

2006-05-31T17:01:00.000-07:00

Active Members of March! For some reasons, we couldn't post pictures under the original blog, so here they are!

Ariel Bohr (CB) and Jade Porter (B)
Andrew Pham (CB) and Kevin O'Donnel (B)

Active Members of April 2006!

2006-05-29T12:17:00.000-07:00

Active Members of April !!!!

Miriam Torres (CB) and Andrea Sultan (B)

Miriam has been a great college buddy this year. She talks on the phone with Andrea frequently and has gone out to many interesting places with her buddy! These places include Disneyland, eating out, shopping together, having Thanksgiving dinner together, and other things. Miriam frequently calls and emails me when she has questions. Miriam has been to events which include meetings, the Christmas Party, the January Dance, and the USC Bash. One can easily tell that she really enjoys spending time with Andrea. I had a hard time picking the college buddy pair of the year because Miriam is such a great college buddy!

Andrea is also a very active buddy this year! She even recently went to our Benefit Concert and helped us with carrying equipment. I really enjoy Andrea's funny remarks because they make me laugh a lot! Some of the events that she has been to include the November Ice Cream Social, the Christmas Party, the January Dance, the Martin Luther King Run, the Valentine's Day Party, the USC Bash, and the Soccer Special Olympics! Way to go Andrea! It is really great that Andrea is very active this year since last year we did not see Andrea around much!

You are both impacting each other!

Associate Member: Jenna Bernal

Jenna is an active member even though she joined only in January! Jenna has been to events which include meetings, the Valentine's Day Party, the USC Bash, the Pool Party, and the Kid's Relay Community Service. Thank you, Jenna, for your time, dedication, commitment, and support!

Meeting May 30!

2006-05-29T11:41:00.000-07:00

Meeting Changed to Tuesday, May 30!

Date: Tuesday, May 30
Time: 6pm
Where: Lothian Lounge
What: Collecting Car Wash Material Donations + Signing Community Service Forms

Please donate any of the following (bring to meeting)...

If you pick something, please donate enough. For example, if you pick donating brushes, please donate 4 brushes.

4 Scrub Brushes
6 Big Sponges
6 Spotless Dryers/Miracle Towels/Shammies
3 Car Wash Concentrates
3 Tire Foam Cleaners
3 Wheel Cleaners
8 Towels
2 Buckets
3 Wax on Spray on Bottles

2) Car Wash Fundraiser
Date: Sat, June 3rd
Time: 10am - 1pm
Where: Shell Gas Station at corner of University and Iowa

If you need a ride, please let us know or we will not be setting a time to pick anyone up.

Concert 5 25 2006

2006-05-26T18:14:00.000-07:00

Awards!

2006-05-26T18:12:00.000-07:00

End of the Year Banquet!

College Buddy Pair of the Year: Cassandra Forrest and Rachel Contreras

Associate Members of the Year: Janette Rodriguez and Marisol Sanchez

Parent of the Year: Susan Porter

Buddies of the Year: Hugo Rosales and Johnny Haines

End of the Year Banquet 5 21 06

2006-05-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

Outstanding Student Organization Award 5 18 2006

2006-05-26T17:40:00.000-07:00

Hello! Did you know that we won the Student Organization of the Year Award at UCR~!!!! We beat out fraternities!

Thank you Christopher R., Anna, Stephanie, Hugo, Johnny, and Adriana for attending!

My Buddy's sick!

2006-05-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

I visited Stacey before the concert last night, and she had the flu! She was going to come with me to Back to the Grind, but she was really sick. I can't imagine being sick in this hot weather we've been having.

Stacey and I have been having low-key (and cheap!) one-on-ones. I just visit her at her house, and we talk about our upcoming graduations! We can't wait to graduate. I also brought over my new puppy to play with Stacey. She loves him as much as I do. Last weekend, we tried to teach him to roll over, but he gets confused and he does every trick he knows except rolling over when we say "Roll over."

I'm going to miss Stacey when I move to Missouri next year. She always puts me in a good mood.

Benefit Rock Concert This Thursday!

2006-05-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

Come and support Best Buddies!!!

Please call your buddies and try to have your buddy attend the concert (this Thursday)! These bands are playing for FREE! They told me they want to meet the buddies~!

Also, bring some extra money to buy some coffee or pastries since the coffee shop is generously letting us use the place for FREE!

Note: Extremely loud music and there may be strong language.

Best Buddies Rock Benefit Concert Fundraiser

Suggested Donation: $3 (cash only)

When: May 25 (this Thursday)

8 pm - Oppressed MX
9pm- Laid
10pm-Sune

Where: At Back to the Grind Coffee Shop off of University

(3575 University Ave, Riverside CA 92501, between Lemon and Orange)

From UCR, Go Down University, The Coffee Shop Will be on Your Right Hand Side, between Orange and Lemon. The “Back to the Grind” sign will be hard to see, but you should see a small sign that says “FREE INTERNET ACCESS”. That is the Coffee Shop where the concert will be.

Who: The bands are Oppressed MX, Laid, and Sune.

Need Rides?: Come to lot 24 at 7:30pm.

Banquet Tomorrow!!!

2006-05-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I would like to congratulate everyone for their effort in winning the Organization Of The Year Award for UCR. All the officers and lazy associate member like myself are all proud to be part of this club! At the Banquet tomorrow we will be distributing awards to the most active members. I also want to mention how beautiful and fantastic Anita is! It makes me sad that she has to spend hours each day doing Best Buddies. She is so hard working and ambitious, and many of you don't know how many times she stands me up just to spend long hours preparing for events and organizing this club! That's why I go to events so I can at least see her then. Also because Hugo is such a cool friend and sometimes there is free food... =)

Our Feature!

2006-05-17T17:05:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Has anyone seen the feature of us on the UCR webpage? I never saw it but during one of the discovery day recruitments, someone told me they found out about us through that! I know that Dr. Blacher told me it would be up, but I did not realize it would be up so soon!

Donations!

2006-05-14T10:48:00.000-07:00

Wall of Donations!!!!

I just wanted to thank all of these people and places for making donations to us, either monetary, merchandise, or service:

Dr. Jan Blacher-our faculty advisor (monetary)

Vons at the Riverside Plaza (merchandise)

Food 4 Less on University Avenue (merchandise)

Rite Aid at the Canyon Crest Town Center (merchandise)

Hollywood Video on Central Avenue near Project TEAM (merchandise)

Home Depot in Moreno Valley (merchandise)

McDonalds on University Avenue (merchandise)

Nails for You (monetary)

Spaghetti Factory (service)

Wal Mart in Moreno Valley (merchandise)

Josh Ridder's Mother (monetary)

Stater Brother on Iowa (merchandise)

Anonymouse Business (merchandise)

Sav On Drugs in the Riverside Plaza (merchandise)

Back to the Grind Coffee Shop (service)

Rock Bands Laid and Oppressed MX (service)

Cask and Cleaver on University Avenue (service)

Karras Family Business (monetary)

Christopher Rivera (monetary)
If you are ever in these areas and need to buy something, these are great places to shop!

My Best Buddy

2006-05-08T00:02:00.000-07:00

wOw...the pool party was a lot of fun. I am excited to be an officer for best buddies next year. I had an awsome year with my best buddy, Kevin. We had tons of fun playing vid games (the current one he's playing is kingdom hearts), going out to eat burgers and pizza, and staying up till eleven o clock. I had the oppurtunity to learn about what a great person Kevin is. He is really outgoing and sociable (everything that I'm not). He is also super funny and has a love for soda and COFFEE. We're gonna celebrate his upcoming 20th birthday the 22nd of May and we're gonna have a blast. We're also gonna keep in touch and hang out during the summer since I might be up in Riverside too. I'm glad that I've joined best buddies or else I wouldn't have met Kevin. I know that I've made a friend for life.

Pool Party

2006-05-06T19:55:00.000-07:00

People Who Came: Nina, Sara, Anna, Jenny, Noelle, Andrew, Kevin I., Mohammad, Stephanie, Lars, Karisma + Guest, Christopher R., Jenny, Jenna, Adriana G.

Buddies Who Came: Hugo, Timothy, Trent + Mother, Felix, Johnny, Robert, Jason, Jade + Susan Porter, Paul, Kevin O., Josh.

Pool Party 5 6 2006

2006-05-06T19:29:00.000-07:00

Sunday's Event!

2006-05-02T12:40:00.000-07:00

I had a great time last Sunday. 8 or more buddies came out to the event and although I was sun burnt I had a great time. Anna and everyone else who organized it did a great job. I am really glad I went and I hope we can do this again sometime soon. All the buddies also had a great time as well. The food there was great and I know Hugo, Felix and Robert enjoyed looking at the cars. Also Anita was looking especially pretty that day...

Pictures of Kid's Relay 4 30 2006

2006-05-01T15:06:00.000-07:00

Spring Break and April Recaps

2006-05-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Here's a recap of all the events from Spring Break leading up to today's Kid's Relay event!

The first event since the March 4th Bash was the Spring Break March 31st Soccer Special Olympics. The buddies at Project TEAM played against many other schools including Arlington High School. The Special Olympics was held at the California School of the Deaf and the buddies had a lot of fun playing the game! Project TEAM won five games because many of our buddies were so active, including Kevin O'Donnel and Jason Albert. Trent's father was also at this event filming the game while Kevin's father cheered the buddies on. At the end of the game, all the buddies received a Special Olympics Medal. College Buddies Stephanie Do and Anna Nguyen chatted with the buddies as usual and they were very honored to receive medals even though they did not participate in the game!

That night the Inland Empire Bash was held at Edward's Mansion in Redlands. The theme for the night was "Evening Under the Stars" and many people came dressed very elegantly. Many Best Buddies folks danced, chatted, and ate Mexican food. Nearing the end of the event was the exciting raffle and the announcement of the most active high school chapter, which just happened to be Jurupa High School. We were glad to hear that the chapter that won the most active award was also from the Inland Empire. Go Inland Empire! Anna was excited to see familiar faces of the high school directors who she met during the Summer 2005 International Leadership Conference. Thank you Kevin I., Anna, Kieu, and Hugo for making it to this event! The best part was being able to spend time with Becky our program manager!

As the first week of school started for UCR students, we had our first meeting for Spring Quarter. The meeting was on April 5th, and the turn out was great! Maybe it was the FREE pizza (j/k)! Whatever it was, the participation was excellent with over 20 people attending. Voting took place, many people turned in nominations (for the UCR chapter award), and many left with gifts that we gave out.

Our first fundraising event this quarter took place during the first week of school. Thank goodness it did not rain when "Matachos" was scheduled to come onto campus and sell their merchandise consisting of jewelry and bags. Nina Grewal (college buddy) supported "Matachos" by buying some of their merchandise. By sponsoring this vendor onto campus, we earned $300 this quarter! We thank Sonia Ibanez from "Matachos" for working with us a second time this year.

In April, we participated in Discovery Day recruiting events. Our first was during the weekend of the first week of school. On April 8, Thi, Kevin I., and Anna came out onto the UCR campus to set up a booth displaying our information. We signed up many eager incoming freshman students and were glad to hear that many already knew about Best Buddies from their high school!

The next day a few students worked together to make a scrapbook for the application of the Best Buddies International Outstanding Award. Despite a whole day of work, Stephanie, Kevin I., Anna, Kieu, and Brian were able to complete the scrapbook. The scrapbook consisted of an essay portion answering questions such as how our chapter showed commitment to the international mission. We also had many recaps of events, our feature in the Highlander, and sample letters in our application. Once again, thank you for all of the students who helped and also for Stephanie who will be mailing in the application. Results for this award will be provided in July.

Friday, April 14 was the deadline for turning in nominations for the Outstanding Chapter Award for UC Riverside. We turned in as many as 20 nominations and even Student Life were surprised that we turned in so many. Thank you all for turning in nominations, especially our advisers Eldon, Dr. Blacher, and Becky! We will hear about the results by May 18 and details will be provided on this.

Christopher R, Anna, Kevin I., and Hugo came to Dr. Blacher's Education 116 to do a quick presentation about Best Buddies. First up to speak was Anna who gave the history of Best Buddies, then Kevin I. talked about the exciting positions we have. Christopher R. then talked about his experiences as an associate member and lastly Hugo talked about how he enjoyed being a buddy! We are so excited that Adriana Gomez, who heard about us through this presentation, is now our newest associate member!

The next was our Discovery Recruitment II (April 22) in which many volunteers came to help out! Thank you Thi, Marisol, Janette, Aimee, Kevin I, Stephanie, and Anna for recruiting! Thank you Karisma for making the flyers & Christopher Tran and Kevin Izquierdo for making the new display board!

Yesterday we had our last Discovery Day Recruitment III. We had a little over 10 people sign up for Best Buddies. We even had the President of a high school Best Buddies chapter sign up. Great! Thank you Anna and Shih-Hao (interested member) for recruiting!

Today we had our Community Service Event (pictures will be up www.best-buddies-riverside.blogspot.com by tomorrow)! Many people attended this event! Among the buddies were Robert, Felix, Hugo, Trent and his father, Johnny, Josh, and David! Among the UCR members were Nina, Sara, Jenny, Jenna, Freida, Christopher R., Christopher T, Heather, Karisma, Stephanie, Aimee, Adriana (newest member), Anna, and Kieu! Our volunteers were divided into many groups. Some worked at the Cash Cube station in which kids caught floating money while others worked at the bowling booth. Other volunteers worked at the princess station where they collected tickets and helped make colorful and creative visors for children. Of course these game booths came with prizes for the little kids! Our volunteers enjoyed free drinks and snacks. There were many performers (UCR's Salsa Club) and booths during the whole event. A few of us even got stopped to be interviewed (and videotaped) by the Ronald McDonald House. The video will probably be shown in conferences. Way to go for our Best Buddies signs. They make a difference!

Let's thank our interested officers who are currently being trained for next year: Aimee, Karisma, Kevin, Kieu, Janette, and Marisol. Every weekend we have a chat room officer meeting in which we all discuss and vote on events!

Lastly, thank you Dr. Blacher for making the phone calls! Also, Dr. Blacher was able to contact a webmaster who put our information directly onto the UCR webpage. We hope that you saw the feature of us!

Sincerely,

BB Officers

Recruiting on April 29

2006-04-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

Today's recruitment was the most successful! We had an interested member, Shih-Hao, even come to help recruit! A lot of interest people stopped by our booth and asked about Best Buddies and as many as ten people signed up! Many of them already knew about Best Buddies because they had one at their high school. We even recruited an incoming student who was the President of Best Buddies at her high school!

Recruitment II 4-22-06

2006-04-29T12:42:00.000-07:00

Discovery Recruitment III

2006-04-24T19:18:00.000-07:00

Date: Saturday, April 29

Time: 9 am to 11 am

Where: Rivera Library Mall Near the Arches

Active Members of March!

2006-04-20T22:58:00.000-07:00

Active Members of March

No associate member was picked for March.

College buddies of March are Ariel Bohr and Andrew Pham!

College Buddy: Ariel Bohr

Buddy: Jade Porter

Ariel has been a member of Best Buddies since the beginning of the school year! She is a sweet young lady who has attended many events this year such as the November Ice Cream Social, the January Dance, the Christmas Party, and various meetings. She has spent time with her buddy Jade shopping in Downtown Riverside, visiting her buddy at Ability Counts, and had other one to one outings. You are Jade's first committed buddy! Thank you for everything, especially for your patience!

Jade Porter has been very active! Jade has been to the Honors Community Service Recruitment in Summer of 2005, the Spaghetti Factory Matching Social, the "Love, Inc" TV Taping, the Halloween Party, the Christmas Party, the January Dance, the Valentine's Party, and much more! Jade also participated in the See's Candy Sale Fundraiser. Her mother turned in a nomination for the "Outstanding Student Organization" of the year for UCR! Her mother has also helped us provide rides. Great job Jade and thank you Mrs. Porter!

College Buddy: Andrew Pham

Buddy: Kevin O'Donnell

Andrew has also been very active since the beginning of the year! He has watched Harry Potter, played video games, ate dinner with Kevin, and much more! Andrew has attended the Spaghetti Factory Matching Social, the Ability Awareness Training, both TV Tapings, the Ice Cream Social, and more! He also raised $40 for the March Bash! Kevin greatly appreciates your friendship. You have made Kevin's first year at Project TEAM exciting and fun!

Kevin has been very active too! He's been to the Spaghetti Factory Matching Social, the November Ice Cream Social, the Halloween Party, the Christmas Party, the Valentine's Party, and other events. He also helped Project TEAM win during the Special Olympics Soccer Game in March! Thank you Kevin!

Discovery Day Recruitment Recap

2006-04-09T10:56:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

Yesterday, Anna, Thi, and I set up a booth at the Discovery Day for incoming freshman. Many high school seniors and their parents learned about Best Buddies and our mission to enhance the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. Many seemed interested and hopefully they will be joining us next year! Though many hadn't heard of Best Buddies, we also found people that were very familiar with Best Buddies. Many high schools have very successful and active chapters. Some of the high school seniors we met were part of Best Buddies one on one friendships at their high schools. We learned that the Inland Empire is a strong region for Best Buddies! SO BE PROUD!

Thanks to Karisma Kothari for making our sweeeet flyers... and to Christopher Tran and my friend Dee for helping me make our new display board!

- Kevin

Discovery Day Recruitment I

2006-04-09T09:57:00.000-07:00

Thank you Thi Mai, Anna Nguyen, and Kevin Izquierdo for recruiting!

Time With My Buddy And Shopping On Campus

2006-04-07T12:27:00.000-07:00

Did anyone see all the neat stuff that our sponsored vendor was selling? You guys should really go check it out because there was a lot of good stuff at amazing prices. I bought a bunch of stuff since they are supporting our club, so we should support them in some way as well.

Well..I digress. Yesterday I went to go hang out with my buddy Trent and had a lot of fun. First he was really excited to show me his new DVD which was Winnie the Pooh sing-a-long. And who doesn't love pooh bear? I got a little too into singing with Pooh bear and thats when Trent started laughing at me...haha. After that we watched another one of his favorite videos called the wiggles. I had heard of The Wiggles before but never knew anything about them. For all I knew it was a popular childrens show. I was thinking it would be a cartoon but to my surprise it was not. It was 4 grown men dancing around...Haha quite an experience. We both tried to do the wiggle dance and had a decent amount of success. Here is a short video that you can play at home if you're curious to know who they are.

Ps: On our next big group event I will try making a video and posting it up here. It would be so much more interactive. Wish me luck!

The First Meeting of The Spring Quarter

2006-04-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!
Hope everyone enjoyed their much needed spring break! Well, I just wanted to comment on the meeting we had last night; it was a wonderful turn out ! The room was packed with lots of new faces and there was pizza! Yum!

Just to recap on what happened during the meeting:
We talked about the upcoming event such as the possible pool party, the banquet, and the nomination for the best club.

Officers, keep up the wonderful job! :)

Tonight's Meeting

2006-04-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

I truly think that tonight's meeting was the best! We had pizza and gifts to give to people. We voted on a lot of events and the outcome was great. I saw so many new faces!

Inland Empire Bash!

2006-04-02T17:39:00.000-07:00

The Inland Empire Bash was held at the Edward's Mansion from 7-10pm on Friday, March 31st. Thank you Becky, Kieu, Kevin, Anna, and Hugo for coming! We ate Mexican food, chatted, and some of us danced that night! It was great exploring the mansion and the chapel there.

March 31st Special Olympics at California School of the Deaf

2006-04-02T17:14:00.000-07:00

During the last day of school before Spring Break started for the buddies, many of them played Special Olympic soccer against many high schools such as Arlington and California School of the Deaf. The buddies at Project Team were very talented, winning five games! Some of the most active and athletic players included Kevin O'Donnell and Jason Albert, who helped Project TEAM immensely! Trent's father was there filming the event while Kevin's father cheered the buddies on. At the end of the event, all the buddies received a Special Olympics Medal, including the two members at UCR who came, Stephanie Do and Anna Nguyen. Congrats buddies and good luck on your next tournament, the Softball Special Olympics on May 19, 2006!

2006-04-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!
How was your spring break? I just want to drop a few words to say "hello!." I also want to ask if your ucr email account is messed up. All my emails from the past to current have been lost, and I did not receive any new emails. Please let me know if you have the same problem.
Always,Thi

Inland Empire Bash!

2006-03-29T10:20:00.000-08:00

It's $15 at the door!

The event will be indoors and it is from 7-10pm.

See you there!

A few more pictures from the Bash!

2006-03-29T10:03:00.000-08:00

Diana Jordan

Stretching before the walk. Thanks Jane for leading!

Great music, and having fun dancing!

Soccer Game and Inland Bash!

2006-03-28T22:05:00.000-08:00

Here are two events during Spring break. I hope that this email is not too much of a late notice. I honestly just got this information. Now, enjoy!!!

Soccer Game!
Date: Friday, March 31, 2006
Time: 9am to 12pm (you can come and leave any time)
What: Project TEAM Special Olympic Soccer Game
Location: 3044 Horace Street, Riverside, Ca.
Place: California School for the Deaf at the soccer field. You can park in any empty parking spot by the gym which is right across from the soccer field.

Directions from UCR (I actually went there):
-take 91West
-exit Arlington keep straight until you reach Arlington
-make a left on Arlington
-make a right on Horace
-make a right on small street Cubs
-go straight on Cubs and you will see the soccer field

Inland Bash!
Date: Friday, March 31, 2006
Time: Evening, probably 6pm. I will post the time on our website when I get it. Our website is www.best-buddies-riverside.blogspot.com
What: Magical Evening Under the Stars Bash (You and your buddy may come dressed up according to this theme)
Location: 2064 Orange Tree Lane, Redlands, CA 92374
Place: West Pavilion
Price: $15/person at the door

Directions from UCR I got from Mapquest
-215 North (for 7 miles)
-Merge onto 10 East (for 4 miles)
-Take the California Street Exit
-Left on California Street
-Right on Orange Tree Lane

Around 200 other people will be there! All of California Best Buddies Staff will be there too! There will be a DJ and the Jose Mexican Restaurant is hosting the food. I don't know if the event is indoors or outdoors. I will post that information on the website when I find out.

Have a great vacation!

Chillin with Jason

2006-03-26T13:02:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone!

I just hung out with Jason yesterday and we went to Riverside Plaza to watch The Pink Panther. I picked up Jason and we got to the theater with a bit of time to spare. We relaxed and chatted about the usual things. We talked about music, basketball, and of course... GIRLS! We talked about the NCAA basketball tournament. It's Jason's favorite thing to watch on TV these days. Jason also told me that things are going quite well between him and his girlfriend. Woo hoo! Go Jason!

We had more time to spare so we went to the arcade in the theater. I asked Jason if he ever played Dance Dance Revolution, an arcade dance game. He said he hadn't and he didn't intend to start. We all know that Jason has crazy dance skills from the January Dance Party at Anna's house anyways. We ended up playing a comic book based "shoot em up" game. We didn't last too long and we were killed by a wall with spikes that moved right into us. We then decided to race each other. At the start of the race I got ahead of Jason. Then I got cocky and slammed my car into a wall on a sharp turn. Jason overtook me. I eventually caught up again nd I couldn't help trying to ram Jason's car off the road. Jason evaded me and I ended up smashed up against a wall while he sped ahead. Needless to say, Jason won the race and we shook hands with laughter and sportsmanship.

Soon it was time for the movie. Steve Martin played the Pink Panther detective. Jason and I found many things to laugh at in the movie. Jason was soo excited that Beyonce was in the flim. The funniest part was when Steve Martin's character, who had a french accent, was trying to say the word "hamburger". You kinda have to see it yourelf. After the movie i took Jason home. It was a good time and I never get tired of hearing Jason say one of his favorite phrases, "Be Easy!!" I told Jason that he's starting a trend because I started to use the phrase and my other friends are tarting to catch on too. Hanging out with Jason was a great way to end Winter Quarter!

- Kevin Izquierdo

Some of the Best Memories!

2006-03-25T11:41:00.000-08:00

These are really nice pictures I'd like to share!!!!

The great memories.....

WO oooo Hoooo

2006-03-17T17:08:00.000-08:00

First off I just want to thank and recognize our amazing spotlight pair and associate member. Brian and Robert ...you guys ROCK! Keep up the good work. It feels really nice when you see people put so much effort into their friendships. Oh an and Quynh thanks for posting! I didn't know you read the blog so frequently. I have only seen you at the first event of the year where have you been? Hopefully in the future we will get to see more of you. Take care everybody!

March 4th Bash Pictures!

2006-03-17T12:56:00.000-08:00

Updates!

2006-03-17T12:47:00.000-08:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you! Don't get pinched today....

It's great to know that Timothy Fewkes from Project Team signed up for e buddies! Also, let's welcome our two newest members to our club, college buddies Joon Nam and Ben Torres!

We have three open college buddy positions! We are looking for people who are able to meet up with their buddies on the weekdays at Project TEAM because these buddies are hard to reach and cannot go out on weekends. Please email us with your interest.

Also, if there are any ideas for events or fundraisers, please feel free to email us anytime. Your opinion is important to us.

We hope that everyone liked their t-shirts. We still have some extra ones left and we will give them out next quarter until we run out. We apologize about our decision to make the t-shirts light blue instead of red as we voted. The cost of buying red shirts was not in our budget to give you all free t-shirts.

We were informed that there will be a Bash during our Spring Break in the Inland Empire. We will give you details on that later. It will not be an official event because it will be during Spring Break, but we are letting you know in case you are interested.

For college buddies, please call your buddies during the break. We thank all of you (college buddies) for responding to Friendship Updates (it helps us out so much). If you have not been spending time with your buddy, please make sure that you can commit from now until June and also complete the friendship updates. We are going to become strict on our requirements now because we have been receiving some complaints from buddies' parents. Please let us know (as soon as possible) if you cannot fulfill your responsibility as a college buddy so we can make the rematches (since we only have a few more months left until June). We realize that you are all volunteers, and we appreciate you very much, but please remember the commitment you have made to another person.

Good luck on finals!

Sincerely,

Best Buddies~Providing Opportunities

Active Members of February~!

2006-03-17T12:25:00.000-08:00

College Buddy Pair: Brian Ngo and Charles Beard!

From the first day we met Brian at our Intellectual Ability Awareness Training, we knew that there was something special about this warm college buddy. He has been buddies with Charles since October and we know the great lengths that Brian goes to make sure his buddy makes it to events. The one on one activities that Brian and Charles participate in include playing video games, watching television at Charles' house, and celebrating Charles' birthday in February! We can see from the way Brian interacts with Charles at the Spaghetti Factory Matching Party that there is a very special sort of friendship between them. Just seeing Brian and Charles together at the March bash, the gigantic smiles on both of their faces, and their one to one exploration of the USC campus, we know that they set a great example of a friendship without boundaries. As you can tell, these people are deeply enriching each others lives! Brian has participated in activities this year, including the January Dance, selling Valentine Cards, the Matching Party, the Martin Luther King Run, the March Bash, and a majority of our meetings.

Charles Beard has been active with Best Buddies for a few years. He has always been a very charismatic person, but it was not until this school year that we see Charles so happy and sociable! The reason? Brian has made such a positive impact on Charles....It is unbelievable! Charles has participated in the December Dance of 2004 and the June 2005 Santa Monica Beach Trip. At the recent January dance, he really surprised us with his dancing skills, not to mention the beat boxing lessons he gave us during the recent Friendship Walk.

You two exemplify a type of friendship that fulfills the purpose of the mission of Best Buddies, and with that, we are very grateful that we have a college buddy who is so patient and a buddy who is so sweet.

Associate Member of February: Robert Karras!

It is such a pleasure to recognize one of our newest members, Robert Karras, as the active member of February! Robert became an official member in February, but he's already been to our January Dance and February Basketball Game. We really have to thank Robert again for securing a business donation of $400, which helped us a lot in achieving our goal of raising at least $1000 for the March Bash. Robert also really wanted to go to the March Bash, but could not attend due to employment that day. Thank you Robert for everything you do!

Remember at the end of the year we will pick the college buddy, buddy, and associate member of the year! We will only be picking from the pool of active members that we recognize every month.

College Buddy Position!!!

2006-03-14T12:50:00.000-08:00

College Buddy Position Available~!!!

responsibilities:

Hang out with buddy twice a month
Call buddy (or mail) once a week
Attend group events.

Let us know your interest soon!

Hi Guys!

2006-03-14T12:36:00.000-08:00

Wow I can't believe that it's the tenth week already. I'm really glad to be a part of a club that is very dedicated and full of commitment. I'm happy to see that there are more blogs this past week. I haven't seen them in a while and missed them. I'm going to graduate soon and hopefully the club will continue its commitment to the communities and all the buddies.
Thanks to all of the officers for their devotion and time, especially to the President Anna (your dedication is uncanny).

Take care and good luck on your final,
Quynh

Hello!!!

2006-03-14T00:22:00.000-08:00

I just got home from volunteering and just remember I had a blog deadline. Anyway, I don't know what to say except I am very happy to be part of Best Buddies. Good luck to all on your finals!

Updates from you e-Buddies coordinator

2006-03-13T22:52:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody!
I just wanted to say go Best Buddies! Last month I hung out with my super super cool buddy Trent and we had a blast. We played basketball and watched Austin Powers...yeahhhhhhh baby! I just wanted to tell everyone to keep up the good work. Also, I totally agree with you Sara. I too like to write to express my feelings and not because I have to. Regardless, I hope everyone out there in cyber space is doing well. Don't forget the BB cheer!

There Should Not Be Deadlines For Feelings...

2006-03-13T22:08:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
I just wanted to say that everyone in Best Buddies are truly dedicated and wonderful buddies. I feel like our chapter has really taken off! I really do like posting in the blog, it is just unfortunate that I do not have too much time to post more often. It is also unfortunate that the officers have blog deadlines. I feel that this takes away from the true meaning of posting a blog. I feel like blogging should be a way for members to share their experiences and another way to have fun with their buddies; this new deadline for blogging just makes it feel like another task to be done. Nonetheless, I love this organization and I plan on continuing to support Best Buddies in every way I can even after college.
Till the next deadline,
Bye

Hello From Anna!

2006-03-13T10:19:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!

I just wanted to say thank you all for everything you do. I wanted to wish you all good luck on your finals and I hope that your Spring Break will be relaxing and memmorable. I can't believe it is already March and by the time we get back from Spring Break a new quarter would start! It's so crazy that there will only be two more months left for Best Buddies this year, so I'm trying to make it as great as possible. I really hope that you guys all like your t-shirts and I hope you like the color. It's light blue because we wanted to give the T-shirts free to you and red was too expensive. There is going to be another bash on March 31st, but this time it is during our Spring Break and in the Inland Empire, so I will be emailing you guys that information later....If you can come that would be great, but if you can't then its understandable. Hugo and I will be going and we hope to see you! For people who want to be officers, I haven't forgotten about you. I will be sending an email and/or calling you to let you know what you have to do. Also, PLEASE let me know if you want to become President. Even though its after March 1st, we need people who will be able to make it to the leadership conference in July so let us know. It will consist of a whole week of training and you get to meet Anthony Shriver! Well, I wish you good luck with everything. I'm so happy that so many of you are dedicated to Best Buddies. I was so excited to see that 30 people attended the March 4th Bash! Please don't forget to call you buddy during Spring Break. You can always email me any time at Best_Buddies_Riverside@yahoo.com with any inquiries or if you want to just say hello!

Having a BLAST at the BASH!

2006-03-05T17:58:00.000-08:00

The final group event of this quarter was fantastic! We all had a long day at USC, but it was a day packed with events.

First event of the day: the 5K Friendship Walk.

To start everyone off, we had a special guest, Diana Jordan, give an inspirational speech about her achievements as a person with a disability. Diana is a professional actress who also speaks on disability rights and diversity casting. She reminded us all to “Keep trying, keep climbing, and keep reaching for [our] dreams!”

Before we started our walk, Jane Hon from our very own Project Team helped Best Buddies staff lead the group in stretches! Then, our impressive chapter went on the Friendship Walk together. It was a beautiful day for a walk around USC’s campus!

After the walk, lunch was served, and we had the opportunity to meet other local chapters at their activity/game booths. Thanks to Sara Phung and AmeriCorps for helping us with our booth! We all enjoyed our sandwiches, courtesy of Subway, while the Buddies were winning prizes, singing karaoke, and jumping on the moon bounce.

Amidst the excitement, Void 808 and Sputnik Monroe rocked out on stage, a dance troupe performed, and dogs impressed us with their Frisbee tricks. The Buddies loved showing us their dance moves.

At the end of the day, awards were presented. We found out that we were one of two organizations that raised over $1000 dollars, and missed the top amount raised by less than $50. That honor went to Beverly Hills High; the school raised $1100.

We really have to thank Robert Karras again for securing a business donation of $400, which helped us a lot in achieving our goal of raising at least $1000. Thanks also goes out to Andrew Pham (CB), Brian Ngo (CB), Selina Tam (CB), La Quesha Robinson (Associate), Christopher Rivera (Associate), Timothy Fewkes (Buddy),Rachel Contreras (Buddy), Josh Ridder (Buddy), and Trent Haas (Buddy) for collecting pledges. Every little bit helped, and the combined forces of this group of individuals raised almost $250!

Then our program manager, Becky Boatwright, recognized outstanding chapters for honors like Most Improved and College Buddy Pair of the Year. U.C. Riverside was recognized for

College Chapter of the Year!!

A special thanks to our CBD, Anna for leading a strong chapter.

But the real thank you goes out to all our members.

It is really the commitment of our members that made us College Chapter of the Year. Only a handful of colleges were there, and UCR definitely had the strongest showing with thirty members attending. So an extra thanks to everyone who made the trip out to L.A. and representing U.C. Riverside at its finest:

Anna Nguyen (College Buddy Director)

Sara Phung (Membership Coordinator)
    & 3 of her AmeriCorps colleagues

Nina Grewal (e-Buddies Coordinator)

Stephanie Do (Treasurer)

Jenny Tan

Miriam Torres

Brian Ngo

Kevin Izquierdo

Mohammad Abdel-al

Lars Knutstad

Christopher Rivera

Janette Rodriguez

Marisol Sanchez

Elizabeth Reyes

Erin Wong

Selina Tam & 2 of her guests

Buddies

Hugo Rosales

Timothy Fewkes

Robert Sweetwater

Charles Beard

Joshua Ridder

Andrea Sultan

Stacey Box

Jane Hon

Tomas Cruz (alumnus)

Pictures to be posted soon!

February with Hugo~!

2006-03-05T14:11:00.000-08:00

For the month of February, Hugo and I went out on two one to one outings! As you know, Hugo and I get together to hang out and to study a lot. In our first outing, Hugo came over to my house and that is just what we did! At the end of February, Hugo and I also went to watch Final Destination 3. I was scared all the way but Hugo was fine with everything! That movie is very gory, but for some reason I did not really enjoy it...Maybe it is because the story is basically the same as in the first one. Anyways, it is really great hanging out with Hugo. Hugo always has the greatest stories to tell! He confides a lot in me, and I can tell you everything about what happened the other day or about someone he think is very special...but that's a secret. It was good seeing Hugo's sister and always receiving warm greetings from his parents. Hugo started his post graduation studies at a different part of Project Team, and so far he's enjoying it very much. I made Hugo a Valentine's card the other day and it was good to see Hugo at the Valentine's Party, Basketball Game, and March Bash! By the way, Hugo, Tomas, and Timothy are some lucky guys...At the March Bash, they were exploring USC so they visited the bookstore. Chris bought them all USC caps!!! Alright, bye bye for now and I hope to hear about all of your great stories with your buddies as well! Oh, and I forget to say that I mailed a Valentine's card to Tomas in February, and when he received it he was so excited he called me immediately!!! I'm so happy to see that my friends are enjoying life and are healthy!

Updates and March Bash!

2006-02-23T12:41:00.000-08:00

The March Bash is coming! It's next Saturday!

On Tuesday, February 28, we will be having our last meeting of the quarter!
Date: Tuesday, Feb 28
Time: 6pm or 7pm (you can come to either one for your convenience)
What: We are collecting the money donations that you gathered for the March Bash. You do not have to come to the meeting if you do not have money to turn in.
Where: A and I Lobby

March Bash
For the March Bash, we are trying to get as many people (associate members, college buddies, family members, and all your friends/guests) to come to this event. It's Saturday March 4 from 10am to 4pm at the University of Southern California (USC), so PLS reserve this date. It will be a VERY BIG event with lots of free food, and we have an EXCELLENT chance of being recognized as an outstanding chapter, so PLS come to this once in a life time experience! It will consist of a friendship walk so we will be walking together as the UCR group. There will also be a lot of music and entertainment there...There may even be celebrities! We have our own booth too so that people from other chapters can come meet our outstanding one!

Calling all College Buddies and Associate Members,

Our goal as an organization is to raise $1,000 total for the event. We have decided to put into the March Bash most of the money we raised during Winter Quarter. That is, $100 from the Valentine Sale and $300 from sponsoring a vendor onto campus. If you guys are able to earn a total of $400 through gathering money donations, we will put in another $200 from the See's Candy Sale of Fall Quarter (to make a total of $1,000).....Remember that if we raise $1,000, we will get free t-shirts for everyone at the Bash, we will get $250 back to our organization, and we will get a free ticket for the trip to Indiana that the future President will take. Also remember the impact you are making in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities in California if you make $400 total~!

The UCR Best Buddies t-shirt WILL be ready by the March Bash.

We love your dedication. Go UC Riverside Best Buddies!

All checks are written to Best buddies California.

The UCR Best Buddies t-shirt WILL be ready by the March Bash.

Night out with the Buddies

2006-02-19T09:28:00.000-08:00

I really had an awesome time at last night's group event. I drove some of the buddies to UCR, and they were all really excited about watching the game. Although Stacey (my Buddy) couldn't come, I had some time to get to know some of the other Buddies. Jason, Tim, Hugo, and David are all great personalities and very funny guys. I can't forget Robert, who loves to tell me elaborate and entertaining stories. Coming back to Project Team, they were divided about what they liked best; but they all agreed that they had tons of fun!

Basketball Game 2 18 06

2006-02-18T23:30:00.000-08:00

Valentine Party at Project Team 2 14 06

2006-02-18T23:14:00.000-08:00

February Events Recap!

2006-02-18T22:22:00.000-08:00

Hey there!

We are on a roll ! We have been conducting interviews each week it seems! Our newest college buddy is Elizabeth Murillo. We also have a new associate member Robert Karras. Let us warmly welcome these two members to our organization.

This month we had many successful events!

For our Valentine's Day Card Fundraiser, we would like to thank all these officers and members for helping us make cards and/or helping us sell those cards at UCR:

Christina McKee
Stephanie Do
Sara Phung
Anna Nguyen
Nina Grewal
Adriana Gonzalez
Marisol Sanchez
Janette Rodriguez
Chetana Bhatt
Christopher Rivera

We would also like to thank Victor Iniguez for donating lollipops for the V-card sales~! The cards we made were very colorful and creative. Let us thank everyone who was also able to donate Valentine Card materials including Selina Tam! We spent less than $5 on the materials, and we made $100 total !!! This money will go towards our Best Buddies March 4 Bash. By the way, this means we've made $1300 for the year and we are getting closer to our goal of $2000 by June!

For our Valentine's Party at PROJECT TEAM, we were able to give each of our buddies the handmade Valentine's Day cards! Let us thank Jenny Tan, Jenna Bernal, and Anna Nguyen for making it to the party! Most of the buddies were there as well as our host site adviser Eldon Rynders. The buddies sang to karaoke while our members enjoyed delicious heart shaped cookies and fruit punch. Everyone had such a pleasant time at the party!

Today we watched our UCR vs. SE Missouri Men's Basketball Game. With 24 people in attendance and a win for UCR Score: 69 (UCR) to 61 (opponent), this event is definitely memorable. After watching the game, we treated everyone to Shakey's Pizza and soda! Let us thank all our buddies and these members for attending our event:

Christina McKee
Robert Karras
Mohammad Abdel-al
Derrick Hansen
Sarah S.
Anna Nguyen
Lars Knustad
Kevin Izquierdo
Stephanie and Victoria Do

We greatly appreciate your support. Thank you for all of you who dedicate so much time into this organization. We will post pictures on www.best-buddies-riverside.blogspot.com by tomorrow morning, so please take a look!

It looks like we WILL NOT be having the Homecoming Spirit Fundraiser b/c the people who are doing that have not told us anything about it.

For T-shirts, we have been looking around for good prices. It looks like we will probably have T-shirts ready by the March Bash.

FOR THE MARCH BASH, KEEP ON GETTING THOSE DONATIONS! WE WILL BE SETTING A MEETING AT THE END OF FEBRUARY or EARLY MARCH TO COLLECT THE MONEY THAT YOU GATHERED. REMEMBER THAN YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GO TO THE BASH TO COLLECT THE MONEY DONATIONS.........We hope everyone has a good night and a long relaxing weekend.

See you soon at the Bash, the biggest, most important event of the year! Please save this date if you can.

Regards,

Best Buddies Officers

Active Members of January!!!

2006-02-16T13:46:00.000-08:00

Active Members of the Month of January!

College Buddy Pair: Matt Granum and Johnny Haines

Matt has been a part of Best Buddies since last year, so he has been buddies with Johnny for a long time! One thing so great about this friendship is that it is an equal one in which both people take initiative in contacting in each and spending quality time with each other. For the month of January, Matt and Johnny spoke on the phone almost everyday. They also went race car driving and played nintendo at Matt's house. As you can see, these people are enriching each others lives and they show creativity in the activities they love to do~! Matt has attended a lot of our group activities this year, including our meetings, the Block Party, the Ice Cream Social, the January Dance, and the First Matching Social of October. Matt and Johnny came up with the idea of the the Ice Cream Social and Matt has also generously let us have our ice cream social at his house. This is greatly appreciated!

Johnny Haines has been an active part of Best Buddies since it started at UCR in 2003. He is very sociable and is our current Buddy Director. Over the years, Johnny has made good friends with many college buddies and associate members, especially the three college buddy directors. He is a very responsible officer, helping us by making phone calls to members, gathering ideas for group events, attending the summer leadership conference, and coming to our meetings and group events. We cannot think of one group event in which Johnny did not attend!

Associate Member of January: Khoa Pham!

If you know Khoa, you will know that he is a very cheerful person. His smile would brighten up your day. Khoa always keeps a good attitude and has been active with us since he joined in October of 2005~! We are happy to say that Khoa is the active member of January, having attended events like our October Matching Social and our January Dance. In October, Khoa volunteered to lead our members on a bus tour so that college buddies who do not have cars would be able to use public transportation to spend time with their buddies. Khoa also volunteered to sell Valentine Cards in the case we could not find anyone. Thank you Khoa for everything you do!

Remember at the end of the year we will pick the college buddy, buddy, and associate member of the year! We will only be picking from the pool of active members that we recognize every month.

Basketball Game This Saturday!

2006-02-16T13:45:00.000-08:00

REMINDER:

Our next group event will be this Saturday, February 18th.

Watching UCR Men's Basketball Game

Date: February 18, 2006Time: 4:00 p.m.-6:30pm (Meet by the Rec Center Ticket booth at 3:30pm)
***After the game (After 6:30pm), we will be TREATING all members to FREE PIZZA at Shakeys, so come hungry!***Sport: Men's BasketballOpponent/Title: SE Missouri - Bracket Buster Location: Student Recreation Center Gym
FREE WITH STUDENT ID CARD. If you don't show your student ID card, there will a fee to buy the tickets. It will be around $10.

UPDATES!

2006-01-28T13:30:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day Party
Where: Project Team
When: 1-2pm Tuesday, February 14th

Valentine's Day Cards Sale Fundraiser
Where: Commons East Walkway
When: Feb 9, 10, 13, 14 from 11am-2pm

Watching UCR Men's Basketball Game
Where: UCR Rec Center
When: Saturday February 18th Time TBA
FREE!!!! (w Student ID Card)

For Saturday, March 4th, we will be having our 10th annual Best Buddies Bash. Details are not available now, but it will probably be held at USC and consist of a Friendship Walk, bands, activities, and speakers. We will have our own booth so people can meet our chapter. All Southern Best Buddies Chapters have been invited to this event. We know that this event is some kind of fundraising one and that all chapters are urged to raise as much money as possible for this event. We will give you more information about this event as soon as we get it! LET US SHOW OUR HIGH SPIRIT THERE AS WELL AS BE THE CHAPTER THAT RAISES THE MOST MONEY!!!! WE ALSO HOPE THAT OUR 2 ADVISORS CAN COME AS WELL! Becky (our program manager) will be there.

March Bash
For the March Bash, we are trying to get as many college buddy pairs as possible to come walk and as many people (associate members, college buddies, family members, and all your friends/guests) to come to this event. It's Saturday March 4 from 10am to 4pm at the University of Southern California (USC), so PLS reserve this date. It will be a VERY BIG event with lots of free food, and we have an EXCELLENT chance of being recognized as an outstanding chapter, so PLS come to this once in a life time experience!

Calling all College Buddies and Associate Members,

(For College Buddies)Please let us know if you are interested in walking in the event with your buddy. After you let us know, we will give you a form for you to get friends and people to sponsor you. We also need associate members to volunteer to gather donation money as well, so let us know if you are interested.

Our goal as an organization is to raise $1,000 total for the event. This means that if 15 buddy pairs walk, then each buddy pair just needs to raise around $65 dollars for our chapter to raise around $1,000. We will be getting 25% of what we make back to our chapter ($250 if we make $1,000), so pls try your best!!!!

Vote for Buddy Pair!
Do you have a buddy pair that just stands out in your mind, or even a couple of buddy pairs that deserve to be recognized because they do such an amazing job and have such an amazing friendship?If you do and you think they should be recognized by Volvo for the Volvo for Life Friendship Award then go to www.volvoforlifeawards.com. When you get there go to the Best Buddies tab and it will walk you through a series of questions regarding you and your buddies friendship. This award basically recognizes outstanding members and you have a chance to win 25,000 towards you and your chapters.

TV TAPING RECAP!

2006-01-23T00:05:00.000-08:00

On Friday, January 20th, we went to a TV Taping Fundraiser. We were scheduled to watch "Love, Inc" (a relatively new show) but the show all of a sudden became so popular (no more seats to fill) that we couldn't get in........So we had to leave LA. Despite this, everyone had a great time eating dinner in LA and later also watching movies at Anna's house! Among the people who came were Stephanie Do, Kieu Luu, Andrew Pham and buddies Andrea Sultan, Stacey Box, Jane Hon, Robert Sweetwater, Johnny Haines, and Rachel Contreras! A million thanks to Kieu and Stephanie for providing rides!!!!

So, here we are at the end of January. We had a successful Dance during the first week of instruction, and we've made $400 total for January (MLK Run + Vendor). What a great support we have from our members to make our organization so successful! We now only have $800 left to raise to reach our goal of $2000 by June!!!!

Our Program Manager Becky Boatwright is amazed and very impressed with all of your work and input in this organization. She feels that all the members in Riverside has got it together and that you are making an impact in the lives of many others!!! :)

Regards,

Best Buddies Officers

We have sponsored a vendor!

2006-01-21T09:47:00.000-08:00

It's only the end of week two this quarter, and Best Buddies is on a roll! A huge thanks goes out to Anna for working with a vendor to come on campus this past week. Sonia Ibanez came out on Wednesday and Thursday to represent Matachos, which sells handbags and the like. By sponsoring Matachos to sell on campus, we've earned $300!

Miniature Golfing and Lunch!

2006-01-18T20:47:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, January 14th, Hugo and I went to Castle Park. We were going to go on the rides, but it was too expensive (and raining!), so we went miniature golfing instead! We had a great time, especially feeding the ducks there! We saw a mommy duck with her seven little babies! The baby ducks were so fluffy......One fell down a waterfall and cried for its mom....All the duckies were following their mom! Too bad Hugo and I did not have any more quarters....We should have come more prepared! Also, today I went out with Hugo and his sister to California Pizza Kitchen to chat and eat. Hugo is still waiting for a phone call from his social worker so he could start school (He graduated from Project Team in December). He is also going to go to Mexico soon for vacation!

Leadership Positions Available

2006-01-17T11:15:00.000-08:00

Please email us if you are interested in any of these positions! Spaces fill up quickly...Hurry! We need to pick a CBD by mid February, who will then have a friendly interview with our Program Manager Becky......

College Buddy Director

-The CBD organizes, leads, and maintains a chartered chapter of Best Buddies and ensures that chapter members fulfill the mission of Best Buddies for one academic year

Qualifications:
-Full time undergraduate student
-Must have completed one full year of college
-Must be a matched college buddy
-Must attend international leadership conference in July 2006
-Must fulfill role for one academic year

Responsibilities:
-Hold regular meetings
-Establish regular contact with Host Site Coordinator, Faculty Advisor, and BB staff
-Supervise the distribution and collection of all Membership Applications, etc
-Submit all paperwork by appropriate deadline
-Ensure monthly Friendship Updates are completed and submitted by the 15th of each month
-Update webpage and send out mass emails
-Delegate tasks to officers and make sure tasks are done

Membership Coordinator

-Ensures full participation and conducts monthly friendship Updates on each match

Qualifications:
-Must be enrolled as an full time undergraduate student
-Must be highly organized and willing to work with all chapter members
-Must be a matched College Buddy
-Must fulfill role for one academic year

Responsibilities:
-Prepare chapter roster and distribute to Program Manager, College Buddies, Buddies, Faculty Advisor, and Host Site Coordinator
-Maintain regular communication with Host Site Coordinator to monitor matches' progress
-Help matches resolve problems with assistance from College Buddy Director and Host Site Coordinator
-Conduct monthly Friendship Updates with HSC and submit to Program Manager

Activities Coordinator

-Supervise and documents all chapter activities, including a Best Buddies Month activity

Qualifications:
-Must be enrolled as full-time undergraduate student
-Must be organized and creative
-Must be a matched College Buddy
-Must be able to fulfill role for one academic year

Responsibilities:
-Prepare and distribute semester schedules to Program Manager, College Buddies, Buddies, Host Site coordinator, and Faculty Advisor
-Plan, direct, and supervise group outings including fundraising activities
-Appoints committees to help plan activities when necessary
-Keep accurate information about member attendance and committee participation for all group activities

Treasurer

-Works with chapter officers to monitor financial resources and prepares chapter budget
-Plan and execute fundraisers

Qualifications:
-Must be enrolled as a full time undergraduate student
-Must be detail oriented and capable of balancing ASUCR checking account
-Must fulfill role for one academic year
-Must be a matched College Buddy

Responsibilities:
-Prepare chapter budget
-Meet with Activities Coordinator to ensure chapter activities are funded
-Keep financial records in accordance with college rules and procedures
-Work with College Buddy Director to prepare chapter's financial reports
-Manger chapter fundraising activities
-Communicate and lead Fundraising Committee

E Buddies Coordinator

-Works with buddies to introduce them to the Internet and e-mail. If the Buddies are interested, the e-buddies Coordinator will help them to sign up for and participate in e Buddies
-Maintains our webpage

Qualifications:
-A college buddy who has interest in the internet and email
-Student willing to work with the Host Site and Buddies on a regular basis
-Must be enrolled as a full-ime undergraduate student for the academic year.
-Must fulfill role for one academic year
-Must be a matched College Buddy

Responsibilities:
-Invite Members to our webpage
-Post Blogs
-Disseminate e-buddies information at the meetings
-Present the program to the buddies and UCR members

Co-Publicist (We have 2 of this position)

-Publicize our organization via banners, flyers, and other ways

Qualifications:

-Able to meet deadlines and publicize in a timely manner
-Must be enrolled as a full time undergraduate student
-Must fulfill role for entire academic year
-Must be a matched College Buddy

Responsibilities:

-Communicate and lead Publicity Committee
-Publicizing include calling members and making and putting up banners around dorms and campus
-Publicizing by making flyers, making copies, and posting around campus and dorms
-Publicize at other organizations' meetings and in classrooms
-Publicize by putting an add for the Highlander Newspaper
-Any other form of publication
-Responsibilities of the two co publicist can be delegated between the two officers

Active Members of December!!!!!!

2006-01-17T06:22:00.000-08:00

Spotlight College Buddy Pair:

Stephanie Do (*CB*) and Stacey Box (*BB*)

Stephanie is our current Treasurer! She has been a part of Best Buddies since winter of 2005 and has been very loyal to our organization! She was the only officer, besides Anna and Johnny (Buddy Director), who attended the local leadership conference in Los Angeles during the summer. Stephanie attended our Block Party, our November and January meetings, the "Love, Inc." TV taping, the November Ice Cream Social, our recruitment events, the January Dance, the X-mas Party, the MLK Run, and the list goes on! She posts many blogs, takes initiative to send out emails, and she is very willing to learn and help out her CBD! Stephanie has helped us open up an ASUCR account that we have not had for years, and because of her, we have fundraised $900 so far! Thank you Stephanie, for always providing rides for the buddies at Stacey's group home! Stacey Box has been Stephanie's buddy since last year. She is a very friendly person who is a very active attendee in our events, including the Ice Cream Social and January Dance. Go Stacey!

Associate Member of the Month: Victor Iniguez

Victor joined our organization in the middle of Fall Quarter and has been active since. Victor participated in our See's Candy sale and actually the first to turn in his money to us! He wanted to sell more candy, but we ran out of chocolate to sell. Victor attended our November meeting and also our November Ice Cream Social!!! Thank you Victor for your commitment to our mission, and for supporting Best Buddies at UCR!!!

Jan 15 MLK Run-Third Place!

2006-01-16T07:04:00.000-08:00

The MLK Run on Sunday was a paramount experience! Our volunteer runners Paola Martinez, Cassandra Forrest, Brian Ngo, Christopher Rivera, and Derrick Hansen woke up before 7am in the morning to volunteer for this event! Buddies Stacey Box, Andrea Sultan, Jane Hon, members Anna Nguyen, Stephanie Do, and two guests also cheered the runners!! At 22 minutes 23 seconds (and just 2 minutes from 2nd place) for a 5K relay race, we earned third place and also $100 for Best Buddies! At first place was the Army, and at second place was Alpha Phi Alpha (fraternity). Given that we were the only true non profit (we get no government funding) + we started our race off a little late, this event was a really exciting/fun one and this experience was definitely one we are proud of! Thank you runners!

In Friendship,

Best Buddies Officers

Jan 14th Dance Pictures!

2006-01-14T22:53:00.000-08:00

Hey there!

This weekend was a busy one! With 49 people in attendance, Saturday's dance was definitely a success~! Everyone brought a little something for dinner. We ate and chatted, watched cable, and danced the night away~! Let us thank all the officers for making an appearance, as well as

Lars
Kevin I.
Matt
Brian
Khoa
Mohammad
Ariel
Miriam
Angel
Cassie

Special thanks to those college buddies that went that extra mile of calling up their buddies and also driving them to the dance!

This event was the most successful so far because almost all the buddies came to the dance: 17 out of 21 buddies~!

Jan 10th Meeting Recap/MLK and Homecoming Competition Update

2006-01-14T07:42:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Let us welcome to Best Buddies Lisa Sun, Lien Do, and Candace Best!!!! May we all enhance each other's lives! This makes 74 members so far.........

Thank you for all who were able to make it to the meeting! We started off with the BB cheer and closed the meeting with it~! Here's a recap of the meeting:

A) Key Players
i) Dr. Blacher-donated a total of $75 to our club
ii) We met Dr. Patricia Walsh on the Ireland Board of BB
iii)We met new Program Manager Becky Boatwright (Heidi Morey recently resigned)

B) Events
i) Dance Sat. January 14th

C) Fundraisers
i) MLK Run, Sun Jan 15th
ii) Homecoming Spirit Competition (moved to the end of the quarter)
iii) TV taping Fri Jan 20th
iv) Sponsoring Vendor onto Campus in January

D) Signed up for leadership positions
i) College Buddy Director
ii) Membership Coordinator
iii) Activities Coordinator
iv) Co-Publicist (*banners*)
v) Co-Publicist (*flyers*)
vi) Treasurer
vii) E-Buddies Coordinator

Please email us if you are interested. We are interviewing and picking people by the end of Winter Quarter.

E) See's Candy

Please call Stephanie (951-454-7521) to turn in your See's money

We've made $800 last quarter and if everything works out, we will make another $800 by the end of January.....Kudos for us!

Homecoming Competition Fundraiser

The competition has moved to the end of the quarter. We will notify you when we get further information. Thank you for those who signed up to participate.

Buffet

2006-01-07T17:14:00.000-08:00

Today, I hung out with Tomas. Tomas graduated from Project Team in June of 2006, and I have not seen him for a while except for the group events that we have. The little dog I saw last year is so big and so different now. He's so vicious, but he's still really cute. Tomas and I had a buffet lunch. We ate so much! I was so full, but Tomas kept on eating and eating. Wow, I wish I could stuff all that food in my stomach. Anyways, it was a fun time. I will see Tomas next next week for his birthday yay! This picture is from last year, when I used to have long hair!

Events for January!

2006-01-06T12:27:00.000-08:00

Meeting
Tuesday, January 10th 6:40pm sharp (ultra short meeting!)
Humanities 1400 (next to spiral staircase).

January Group Event Dance
Saturday, January 14th 5-8pm
Location TBA
Potluck event-Christina will be sending out an email for people to sign up to bring food

Fundraiser: Martin Luther 5K Run
Sunday, January 15th Time TBA.
1st place organization gets $300, second place $200, etc.

Runners out there! Please contact us if you are interested!

Fundraiser: "One on One" or another show TV taping.
Friday, January 20th: leaving UCR at 2pm.

Christmas Party Extra Pictures!

2006-01-04T18:03:00.000-08:00

Picture 1: Andrea Sultan w/ College Buddy Miriam Torres
Picture 2: Sepideh Farnia
Picture 3: Thi Mai w/ Buddy Jennifer Snedden
Picture 4: Josh Ridder, Associate Member Mustafa Maloo, Advisor Eldon Rynders, Timothy Fewkes
Picture 5: Jennifer, Felix Guillen, Brigette San Miguel, Timothy, Andrea, Trent Haas

My first visit to Jennifer

2006-01-04T00:47:00.000-08:00

I finally met Jennifer for the first time at the Christmas party, and I instantly felt a connection with her. She is such a nice and cool person. I am very glad to have her as my buddy. On Christmas day, I paid a visit to her house to give her present, and what a trip. It took me more than one two hours to arrive at her house and drive back. Due to my bad sense of direction and the complicated location of her house, I got lost even with my "yahoo driving direction." Until now, I don't think I can find her house if I ever drive there. Therefore, I decide to only visit Jennifer at her school. School almost starts, and I hope to see her soon.

Downtown Riverside

2005-12-31T08:04:00.000-08:00

Downtown in December is so beautiful! Yesterday, Hugo and I went there to observe the lights and check out the stores there! I found out that Hugo will be continuing school and working part time, like he did before he graduated. After shopping, we went back to his house to listen to Eminem music that I got him for Christmas! It was really nice to spend quality time with my buddy yesterday! We will be going to castle park in a few days.........Happy Christmas Eve Hugo!

A Kid in Aladdin's Palace

2005-12-29T14:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I dropped by Stacey's house to give her a Christmas teddy bear. She was really excited when she received my gift because it's the first bear in her stuffed animal collection!

Then we watched the movie A Kid in Aladdin's Palace. If that sounds oddly familiar to anyone, it's because this is the sequel to A Kid in King Arthur's Court! So the movie was kind of silly and cheesy to me, but Stacey loved it! She said she was going to watch it again after I left her house.

Random fact I learned about Stacey on this one-to-one: She really loves gum!

One 2 One With Hugo

2005-12-22T12:23:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, Hugo came over my apartment to hang out. We had our little study session, looked at movie trailers, and we also just talked about our lives. We were going to go watch a movie, but we could not decide, since we heard that King Kong was good, but it was too long for us! I saw Hugo at the X-mas party on December 16, and it was also his last day of school there. Hugo has officially graduated from Project Team, and he is currently looking for a job. I could tell how much Hugo wants to become a CHP. Hugo used to work at a police station, and when we were on our way to my apartment, we saw a couple of police cars. Naturally, I would drive more carefully and think that police cars are bad luck, but to Hugo its more than good luck. Hugo joked around, saying, "Pull us over!" He just loves the presence of police officers. Oddly enough, when I drove Hugo back we encountered two more police cars......Thank goodness I always drive within the speed limit and had my headlights on! Anyways, we had a good time, and plan to go to castle park soon, before Hugo embarks on his journey to Mexico for a few weeks with his family. It's also Lizette's (Hugo's sister) birthday on January 4th, so I plan to do a little something for her. This reminds me that it will be Thomas' (Buddy Alumni) birthday on January 19 and I plan to gather a couple of friends to throw him a surprise party. Well, enough of me. Have a great vacation and Christmas everyone~!