Blacklights and disco balls replaced the white fluorescent light at Circle Bowl; the unmistakable sound of tumbling bowling pins mingled with the equally familiar sounds of rappers Nelly and 50 Cent.
The LSU chapter of Best Buddies held its first annual fund-raiser Sunday night, a three-hour bowling festival.
Best Buddies is an international nonprofit organization that helps people with mental disabilities by providing opportunities for one-to-one friendship, the Best Buddies official pamphlet states.
Emily Fruge, LSU Best Buddies president, said the proceeds would go to Best Buddies to enable it to do more for its buddies, such as barbecue or rent movies. It had barely enough money for balloons at its Halloween and Christmas parties last year, she said.
“A big part of having a buddy is doing things,” Fruge said. “Pretty much everything costs money.”
Fruge said LSU students who are involved in the organization form friendships with people who have a mental disability by calling them once a week and meeting once every two weeks.
By exposing them to social situations, the students hope those with mental disabilities may develop more social skills and become more independent.
“People with disabilities don’t have chances to get into a social situation,” Fruge said. “They don’t have many friends.”
The LSU chapter, which has about 55 buddy-student matches, is the only college chapter of Best Buddies in the state of Louisiana, and one of two chapters in the state, said Sheri Harmonson, state director of Best Buddies in Texas, which oversees the two chapters in Louisiana.
Elizabeth Russell, a Best Buddies volunteer, said many of the buddies enjoy bowling, which makes the fund-raiser practical and fun. Many of them are in a bowling league and own their bowling shoes and bags.
Her buddy, Ashley Reno, suffers from Asberger’s Syndrome, a form of autism, Russell said. They go to dinner or the mall, or whatever Reno wants to do.
“It’s what you would do with any friend,” Russell said. “It’s like, ‘Hey, let’s go hang out.'”
Fruge said their last group activity was an LSU basketball game.
LSU Best Buddies works with the Association of Retarded Citizens to match people with disabilities with a college volunteer. The buddies and students are matched according to a personal profile of likes, dislikes and schedules. ARC provides community support for families and parents of people with developmental disabilities.
Most of the buddies suffer from autism and Asberger’s Syndrome, Fruge said.
Best Buddies began in 1987, and since then, more than 150,000 volunteers and people with developmental disabilities have paired to form friendships.
Russell said the organization needs more volunteers and hopes the fund-raiser will further its ability to make new buddies.
“The point is to form a friendship,” Fruge said.
Students interested in being a part of Best Buddies can reach them at [email protected].