Best Buddies raises over $500,000 in first Aspen gala
Riccardo Savvi/Courtesy Image
Best Buddies International raised over $500,000 at its first Champion of the Year gala hosted in Aspen Friday, July 5.
Champion of the Year is an annual fundraising competition that features prominent business and community leaders who compete to raise the most funds for Best Buddies, a nonprofit dedicated to creating opportunities for friendship, employment, leadership development, inclusive living, and family support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Six people from the Roaring Fork Valley partnered with program participants to raise funds and spread awareness for the Best Buddies mission of inclusion.
The gala featured a silent and live auction, dinner, cocktails, dancing, and keynote addresses from Best Buddies ambassadors Flava Fran Sheinberg “The Autistic Rapping Jew”; Shivan Talwar, Colorado’s first Best Buddies state ambassador; and Best Buddies founder Anthony Kennedy Shriver.
The 2024 Roaring Fork Valley Champion of the Year winner was Nicole Vandeboom. Aspen High School Freshman and previous buddy director for Best Buddies’ Aspen Middle School chapter Ann Perlmutter came in second and Aspen High School freshman and previous president for the middle school’s chapter Allessa Oliver came in third.
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