e-Buddies

e-Buddies is one of the eight programs offered by Best Buddies International. e-Buddies is an e-mail pen pal program that provides opportunities for e-mail friendships between people with intellectual and developmental disabilities ( IDD) and their peers who do not have IDD. e-Buddies is a fun and safe way to make a new friend. Each participant is... matched in a one-to-one e-mail friendship, and matched pairs are asked to exchange e-mails once a week for at least one year. Matches are made based on similar age, gender, geography (i.e. participants will NOT be matched with someone from the same state/province), and shared interests. We fully appreciate the risks involved with online communication. For that reason, we employ a multi-layered approach to minimize risk and ensure the safety of our participants. e-Buddies is open to anyone with an e-mail address who is 10 years old and up. All participants join via our online application . Participants with IDD can sign up individually, or in groups through a special education class or a support service agency . e-Buddies is ALWAYS free of charge for participants with IDD. e-Buddies provides individuals with IDD an opportunity to develop new friendships while acquiring much needed computer skills. For volunteers, e-Buddies is a unique opportunity to change a life and make a friend. The benefits of that are immeasurable. To get started and join e-Buddies, please click here to access our online application . For more specific information on e-Buddies and how it works, please visit our Resources section.Read More