22 Nov Best Buddies meet James Bond and the British Invasion
Sumter Landing in The Villages, FL was the place to be on Friday, November 18th as the Hooligans took the music stage and The Villages British Motoring Club put their beautiful collection of British cars on display throughout the surrounding town square.
Any time The Hooligans perform in The Villages, it brings out a large and festive audience. The Hooligans are known far and wide here in central Florida as a favorite band who electrifies crowds with British rock music from the 60’s thru the 90’s. If you add the local British Motoring Club to the venue, march in some bagpipers, then throw in a James Bond lookalike for photo-op spice, it takes the evening to a whole new level.
For our local Best Buddies chapter to be personally invited as special guests and introduced onstage to such a large crowd, it was a night our Buddies will not forget. It was an opportunity for our special needs adult children in The Villages to feel included, recognized and embraced. For those in the audience, it was an opportunity to meet our ‘kids’ and witness firsthand the innocent joy they bring to this community. To hear the reception when our kids were introduced was a reminder of all that that is good in this world when people come together as one.
Special thanks to The Villages British Motoring Club
This evening would not have been possible without the invitation and support from The Villages British Motoring Club and Sandy Turner. The entire Best Buddies The Villages club extends a big thank you and they appreciate this unique opportunity to be recognized. The British Motoring Club is committed to working with Best Buddies here locally going forward to sponsor opportunities for some unique activities.
Meet some of Best Buddies members in this 2 minute video as Sandy Turner brings them onstage:
Even James Bond was in the house
Best Buddies with James Bond
There were some fun moments as a James Bond look-alike (most recently played by actor Daniel Craig) mingled with the crowd for photo ops in front of the many dazzling cars on display. Whoever he was, he was extremely gracious and kind as he willingly took the time to pose and chat with our Best Buddies group. A true class act and gentleman. And a pretty good resemblance to the actor. I’m not sure who had more fun; the James Bond guy or our kids. I had some fun with a few of the local residents and onlookers as they wondered out loud whether it was actually the ‘real’ Daniel Craig. I fed their curiosity by saying “of course it is….The Villages spares no expense for our entertainment!”
What is Best Buddies International?
Mission
Best Buddies International is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
Who They Serve
The IDD community that Best Buddies serves includes, but is not limited to, people with Down syndrome, autism, Fragile X, Williams syndrome, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and other undiagnosed disabilities.
Best Buddies creates one-to-one friendships between adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) in the community (defined as a ‘Buddy‘) and adults without an IDD (defined as a ‘Peer Buddy‘). These opportunities for friendship and inclusion are especially important for adults with IDD, who often have limited opportunities for social connections as they age.
What makes Best Buddies The Villages unique?
The club meets as a group every 3rd Wednesday of the month from 6:00pm-7:50pm at the Odell Recreation Center in The Villages. These monthly group meetings are filled with fun activities for our Buddies and create lifelong memories and friendships. In addition, our Buddies continue to organize social gatherings and events outside the monthly activity nights. This is their club, and their empowerment has created a truly wonderful opportunity for all the members!
How can you become a part of this amazing club in The Villages?
They are seeking Peer Buddies for the Buddies, but are also open to other volunteers to serve in leadership roles, volunteer at monthly socials, etc..
You can contact them at bestbuddiesthevillages@gmail.com