Best Buddies celebrates Taste of Friendship

Elyce Mundelein is not the average person walking around UCF. On a regular day, Mundelein dances, reads and plays sports. Among her buddies, she is known for her great voice used to cheer up those who are unhappy, and her charismatic personality makes those who talk to her see people for what they are worth.

Mundelein has Down syndrome, yet her disability is no obstacle to be among the few members of the Best Buddies chapter at UCF to coordinate the Best Buddies fifth-annual Taste of Friendship, the chapter's largest fundraiser of the year.

The event, which took place in the Pegasus Ballroom at the Student Union from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, sought to raise $1,000 so the chapter didn't have to fundraise more throughout the year, while promoting the organization's mission of creating friendships for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Best Buddies pairs people with intellectual disabilities with UCF students so that the students act as university mentors for the disabled who get to learn about social activities for college students. These activities include going to football and basketball games, attending a Valentine's Party, and participating in fundraisers like Relay for Life.

"I love everything about today," said Mundelein, a member of Best Buddies UCF for almost five years. "How could you not?"

The crowd participants at the event rushed to the dance floor once the DJ played the music, and for some time people danced to Michael Jackson and Britney Spears before dispersing in the room and sitting down to interact with other members for the remaining of the time.

Taste of Friendship provided free food from popular eateries like Huey Magoo's, Jeremiah's Italian Ice and Marco's Pizza. Attendees could also purchase a $1 raffle ticket for the chance to win prices that included shirts, and gift cards to Yogurt Topia, Target and Huey Magoo's.

The money collected from the raffle went toward the fundraising goal.

According to the chapter president, Jared Taylor, Best Buddies Annual Taste of Friendship has been successful at raising the money throughout the years. However, last year the chapter raised only $600, which is $400 short of their annual goal.

Taylor said he's not sure if they will achieve the monetary goal this year because compared to last year not many people showed up during the event.

"We would've definitely liked to see more student participation here this year," Taylor said. "We put so much time and effort in this event that's for a great cause, but we always have next year to learn from all the other years we've been doing this."

According to the Taylor, Best Buddies UCF has to save the Pegasus Ballroom a year in advance because of the prominence of the room.

For next year's Taste of Friendship, Taylor plans to promote the fundraiser better and more aggressively by using social media and starting earlier than October – when the chapter began planning the event for this year – to let students at UCF know more about who they are and what they do, he said.

Although the crowd turnout could've been a more exciting factor, the fundraiser was more than just raising money, eating free food and winning prizes for students like Nicole Dickerson who joined Best Buddies after attending last year's Taste of Friendship.

Dickerson brought her friend who hadn't heard about the organization, and she looks forward to her friend joining the chapter. At the same time, she used the opportunity yesterday to spend time with the people with developmental disabilities.

"It's a fundraiser but in the end we are here for the people who need us," the junior communications science major said. "Throughout activities like this, we connect to other people by learning about each other, and at the same time we educate students about the negative stereotypes associated with people who have intellectual disabilities."

According to the Best Buddies website, the organization is active in more than 425 college campuses worldwide – with Florida being one of the largest states with general member affiliation.

There are 14 Best Buddies college chapters in Florida, and with 98 active members, the chapter at UCF is the second largest chapter in the state for college participation, according to Taylor.

"My favorite thing about Best Buddies at UCF is that we enhance the lives of all those who participate in our efforts to unite all kinds of people," said Naomi Ward, activities coordinator for the UCF chapter. "I love how closely we work together here to accomplish our goals of changing the perception of people with disabilities by establishing lifelong friendships."