Through 10 weeks of raising funds and awareness for Best Buddies, our Champions will generate countless opportunities for friendships, jobs, and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. At the campaign’s conclusion, we will join together to celebrate each other’s accomplishments, honor the Champions’ collective impact, and name the ultimate Champion of the Year! ~ via Best Buddies International
South Florida’s very own Karyn Turk, former Mrs. Florida (2016), TV Host, Social Media, Radio Personality, Producer and Actress has set her mind on a new challenge. To become Champion of the year for Best Buddies.
Anthony Kennedy Shriver founded Best Buddies in 1989, fomenting friendships among individuals with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). He first reached out to his college peers to come together and broaden the experiences that people with IDD could be exposed to. This volunteer movement makes one-to-one friendships possible along with employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for individuals with IDD.
As part of the program, Karen has been paired with a high school student named Ethan Litman. “He is a rock star!” she claims. Someone that is a little bit older than her son and such a great journey. Ethan is instrumental in creating awareness for the program and embraces his differences which converts into a powerful thing. He has aspirations to go into the military. An athlete for the Special Olympics within bowling and track and field.
It’s not all about giving, this can be selfish as well. Having the opportunity to meet this kid has changed her perspective and this is not about what you give but what you get in return which can be life-changing.
Karen remembers her motivation behind Mrs. Florida she recalls not seen herself as a pageant girl. Her Jewish mother would have been like what are you doing? And the reason to participate was to gain access to an incredible platform that allowed to create awareness towards organizations in need.
This time her goal is to bring more and more awareness. Best Buddies gives her a purpose, a drive, a goal and a reason to work harder. Being in a contentious media environment, she thrives to focus on what is positive. What can make your life better?
The IDD community served by Best Buddies includes people with Down syndrome, autism, Fragile X, Williams syndrome, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, and other undiagnosed disabilities
Every little bit counts, a person sent a handbag for her birthday party to auction, by looking into her birthday petition. This is a job to be done in sync, we are all in this together. The idea behind everything is learning how to be inclusive in this world.
What makes you a better adult? Been exposed to people with different needs. Best Buddies is a charity over and above. As part of her plan as Champion for this organization, she formulating an increased exposure of the charity to high net worth entrepreneurs.
Some CEO’s within South Florida have no idea of the organization and its program. Our community has the potential to step up. Karen definitely sees an opportunity to raise the bar.
The Association of Women in Communications South Florida will be supporting Karen and Ethan’s efforts on Tuesday 24, at The Blue, Boca Raton Resort.
Register for Women in Communications Meetup: Karyn and Ethan to become Best Buddies Champion of the Year 2019
To support Karen and Ethan in their Goals we can donate on the link below https://www.bestbuddieschampion.org/palmbeach/supporting/#karynturk or use the short link: bit.ly/teamkarynandethan
All donations count and may be considered as monetary, In-Kind, Gala Tickets, every little bit counts.
For more information about Best Buddies Champion of the Year Gala https://www.bestbuddieschampion.org/palmbeach/event-details/
###
ABOUT BEST BUDDIES INTERNATIONAL:
Best Buddies® is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Founded in 1989 by Anthony K. Shriver, Best Buddies is a vibrant organization that has grown from one original chapter to nearly 2,900 middle school, high school, and college chapters worldwide. Today, Best Buddies’ nine formal programs — Middle Schools, High Schools, Colleges, Citizens, e-Buddies® , Jobs, Ambassadors, Promoters and Inclusive Living— engage participants in each of the 50 states and in 54 countries, positively impacting the lives of over 1.25 million people with and without disabilities around the world. In many cases, as a result of their involvement with Best Buddies, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities secure rewarding jobs, live on their own, become inspirational leaders, and make lifelong friendships. For more information, please visit bestbuddies.org, facebook.com/bestbuddies or twitter.com/bestbuddies.
About Karyn Turk:
For over two decades, Karyn has worked as a journalist, television producer, host, editor and brand ambassador specializing in business, technology, politics and all things relevant to the modern woman. In 2018, Richtopia ranked her as #200 on their list of Top 250 Most Influential Business Journalists in the World. Karyn also holds the title of Mrs. Florida 2016 and was named one of Florida’s Top Power Women and Influencers in 2015. She has also been featured on the cover of national magazines and has appeared on the show “In Sanity, Florida” and in the award-winning film “Nearly Departed.” She is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video in “Fake News: A Trump Story.” For more info: karynturk.com