Marple Newtown Student Honored By Best Buddies International

MARPLE-NEWTOWN, PA — A Marple Newtown High School student has been honored for her work helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities through Best Buddies International.

Best Buddies is a nonprofit group that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

And this week, the group will honor Emily Kwon.

Kwon, of Marple Newtown High School, has been involved with Best Buddies since 8th grade. Now in her third year of supporting Best Buddies, Emily is the co-president of her school chapter and a member of the Student Advisory Board. She joined Best Buddies because she wanted to learn more about opportunities to promote inclusion. Emily has family members in South Korea who have intellectual and developmental disabilities and is highly aware of the increased challenges they face, every day.

"It always made me sad that I couldn’t make any difference or help create a more inclusive community," Kwon said. "However, the Best Buddies friendship program gave me an opportunity to make a difference for my cousins. It allowed me to expand my knowledge about Inclusion and help establish my future goals. Eventually, I wish that I could expand and influence people with IDD all around the world."

Kwon and Ally Altshuler, of Lower Merion High School, will be honored at Best Buddies' Champion of the Year Gala in Philadelphia. The event takes place from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Thursday at Drexelbrook in Drexel Hill.

Champion of the Year is an annual fundraising competition featuring a select group of individuals, professionals, and prominent community leaders. They compete to raise the most funds for Best Buddies and earn the title of Champion of the Year. By reaching out to the community to raise funds and spread awareness, candidates champion for the Best Buddies mission, and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The gala will celebrate the efforts of seven philanthropic leaders from Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs while partying with a purpose to raise funds for Best Buddies programs. The event includes a silent and live auction, dinner, cocktails, dancing, a keynote address, and a special awards ceremony. This year’s Champion of the Year Gala will raise funds to support Best Buddies programs for individuals with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Tickets are still available for the 2023 Champion of the Year Gala. Attendees will be part of Best Buddies’ goal to expand more opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for individuals with IDD living in the Philadelphia region.

More information and tickets are available online here.

Sponsors for this year’s Best Buddies in Philadelphia Champion of the Year Gala include Spread Bagelry, Wegmans, Fairman Group Family Office, JP Mascaro and Sons, Trulieve, Tito’s Vodka, and the K10 Kids Foundation.