Have you heard about e-Buddies? e-Buddies is an e-mail pen pal program open to anyone with an e-mail address who is 10 years old or older. It provides opportunities for e-mail friendships to develop between persons with a developmental disability and their peers without a developmental disability.
e-Buddies is a way to make a new friend safely, while gaining computer skills. Participants are matched in a one-to-one e-mail friendship. Matched pairs are asked to exchange e-mails once a week for at least one year. Matches are made based on similar age, gender, geography (i.e. participants will NOT be matched with someone from the same state), and shared interests.
e-Buddies recognizes the risks involved with online communication and utilizes a multi-layered approach [1] to minimize risk and ensure the safety of participants.
All participants must join through e-buddies online application [2]. Participants with a developmental disability can sign up individually, or in groups through a special education class or a support service agency [3]. e-Buddies is free of charge for participants with a developmental disability.
For more information about e-Buddies and how it works, please visit Resources [4] section.
e-buddies is a Best Buddies International program. Best Buddies is a nonprofit organization 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.
Visit www.bestbuddies.org/ [5] for more information.
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