By Andy Andrianidis, Buddy Advocate, U of T Scarborough Campus


Hello! My Name is Andy Andrianidis. I am 30 years old.

I volunteer twice a week at Save the Children Canada, an organization that helps children in third world countries. Two years ago, I was a Buddy Advocate for Best Buddies Scarborough U of T campus. My Host, Rebecca Lovering Spencer works at Extend-A-Family.

My duties as an advocate were to match potential students with clients of Extend-A-Family. I really enjoyed my duties as an advocate because it was enlightening to match students with adults with developmental disabilities and to watch that friendship blossom like that flower in early spring.

I like the fact that Best Buddies gives those adults with developmental disabilities a chance to make a friend who will not feel alone or look at them because they are different. I myself speak from experience. I like positive results, especially when the phone rings and chatting it out with each or doing activities with one another and having fun and also feeling good about themselves. Best Buddies is a safe environment to do this. I want everyone to have friends, to enjoy life and not feel alone.

I sometimes think I am alone in this world but I am not. There are people in this world who are truly alone, who have a difficult time making friends and need that friend who will comfort, support and have a good time with them. This is why as an advocate I take my duties very seriously – just like those receipts and envelopes that have to be mailed out at work to the clients the same thing goes with being an advocate.

I feel the world would be a much happier place if everyone had a friend who could comfort and support one another. As an advocate I am able to allow that example, at my Best Buddies chapter if there were 5 students and 6 of us, I would not have a student buddy – as my foster mother always told me, look out for others first before yourself, and share and share alike.
 
For me personally, Best Buddies has been very good. I have made 5 very good friends. We are all very close to each other – like family. I love each of them with all my heart – and that is why I must succeed in making others happy and to have friendships.