The Best Buddies SDSU International Organization partnered with Kool Beans Coffee and Roasterie to host a St. Patrick’s Day-themed event on Monday, March 24 at 6:30 p.m.
Best Buddies is a club at SDSU that connects students with people with IDD (Intellectual disability) to foster relationships and inclusion for those with disabilities at SDSU. It is an extension of the pre-existing Best Buddies International, which has multiple programs across the world.
The night included members of the club, SDSU students with and without IDD, and residents of Advance, a nonprofit organization that supports over 160 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Brookings, as well as surrounding areas.
How the event came about was through the club reaching out to businesses in the Brookings community through Christmas cards to partner with. Kurt Osborne, the owner of Kool Beans Coffee and Roasterie, was the only to respond.
“He said that he would be interested and we didn’t know what that meant,” said Wynn Sandman, president of SDSU Best Buddies. “We kind of just threw out the idea, ‘What about using Kool Beans as an event space?’ and he was like, ‘I think that’s possible,’ and that’s how that came to be.”
Those who attended were treated to St. Patrick’s Day cookies and hot chocolate, courtesy of the club while playing board games.
“One of our most popular activities, just in general for our monthly meetings, are games,” Sandman said, “They love board games.”
Members of the club are assigned a “buddy,” a person with IDD, to create these relationships. The pairs share weekly calls and monthly visits throughout the academic year. Sandman said there was a lot of anticipation leading up to the event, especially from her buddy.
“My buddy, she texted me once last night saying she was so excited, and then she texted me this morning, saying she was excited, and then she called me before the event saying ‘I’m so excited,’” said Sandman.
The club aims to host monthly events where residents of Advance meet with members from Best Buddies, typically relating to holidays for each month if it pertains. Usually, the events are held at Advance, other than one event being on campus. This event has been the first in the Brookings community.
“To have a community event… to go beyond campus, you know, to go out into Brookings and pair with a local business and spend time with one of the most popular cafes in town, it’s nice,” Sandman said.
Osborne said that it was the first after-hours event for the Best Buddies club.
He also said he moved to Brookings and worked at Advance in 1987 during graduate school, and shared his experience of working there before owning the coffee shop.
“So I worked there and I worked with adults with disabilities before, and it brought us to Brookings,” said Osborne. “So, this [event] has been fun.”
Sandman, who has been the president for 2 years, explained that the club briefly stopped due to COVID-19, but has been brought back in the time that she’s been there. This year is the first year where Best Buddies has been active on-campus, said Sandman.
“It’s been a lot of work, but it’s been great to see,” said Nora Smestad, the vice president of the Best Buddies club, “An event like this, back in August, we couldn’t have dreamed of it, but being able to go out in the community and see… what we’re doing and being able to make an impact with people right here in Brookings with the SDSU students has been a really cool experience.”
Currently, the club has 40 active members on Jacks Club Hub and is always looking for people to join.
“Come join us sometime,” Sandman said. “Any new thing can be a little bit intimidating, but it just seems like everyone that comes along is able to find a lot of community and a lot of great engagement, and it’s a very rewarding club.”
