How Forever Friends Celebrates the Holidays

By: Mackenzie Posey and Kelsey Kiely, Staff Writers

Forever Friends Club is a group full of loving students and teachers who are currently looking forward to the holiday season. Forever Friends was formerly known as Best Buddies, which was founded nationally in 1989 to provide opportunities for those with disabilities. Since then, society has come a long way to include disabilities in many different communities.

    Forever Friends not only includes the Foran community but the Law community as well. This is a great way for students to make even more friends and bring the greater Milford community together as well.

    Every month this club celebrates an exciting event in that month; February is Valentine’s Day, March is St. Patrick’s Day, and so on.

    The club consists of special education students and peer mentors. Both students and peers are all devoted to having fun and bringing holiday cheer to the Foran community.

    This year, members hope to spread holiday cheer and celebrate together through many different activities. Some of these activities include a scavenger hunt, a movie, and so much more.

    For many students, this club is what brightens their day and the holiday party is a huge event that they look forward to all year.

    Advisor Mrs. Missy Kaminski states, “It’s wonderful for kids to have the opportunity to meet new people and practice social skills, and I think it’s important for typical peers to see how they can develop friendships with peers that are necessarily exactly like them.”

    Forever Friends is a great opportunity to get involved in the Foran community, make some new friends, and celebrate the holidays with classmates.

    Member Alexander Ortiz states, “We play holiday themed games, make holiday snacks, and have holiday fun.”

    Ortiz has been a member of the club for many years of his high school experience and loves every minute of it. Ortiz would describe the club as awesome, delightful, and amazing, and says he enjoys spending time with other students.

    The club allows students to create new relationships and bond with other students. It is important to have these bonds and understand how influential other students can be on eachother, working with peers is one of the best ways to learn and grow.

    Joe Gaetano, a senior, says, “My favorite part is getting to make new friends and have a good time with them through so many different activities like holiday festivals. Sometimes the activity is a scavenger hunt, sometimes it’s cooking, and other times it’s decorating for the holiday and doing different crafts. Then once you’re done with that you can talk to all your new friends and really start to build a strong bond with them.”

    Forever Friends will meet again in the new year. Wednesday, December 14, 2022. All are welcome and encouraged to attend- this is a great opportunity to see what it’s all about.