Volunteer Wave at the Best Buddies Friendship Walk

On October 4, 2025, our Volunteer Wave community stepped out for something a little different—a volunteer social hosted during Best Buddies Canada’s first-ever Vancouver Friendship Walk at the University of British Columbia.

Best Buddies Canada and its UBC chapter share a mission close to our hearts: creating opportunities for authentic friendship, mentorship, and inclusion for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Their vision is simple yet powerful—to ensure everyone has a friend and a community where they truly belong.

The Volunteer Wave program has partnered with Best Buddies UBC for the past two years, co-hosting inclusive volunteering activities that have kicked off our annual Community Care Adventure volunteer festival. In both 2024 and 2025, our partnership brought together around 50 volunteers each year to assemble care kits that supported organizations such as The Kettle Society, Directions Youth Services, Aboriginal Mother Centre Society, and Youth Rising Foundation.

At the inaugural Vancouver Friendship Walk, we joined in to support our friends at Best Buddies while celebrating the joy of connection and inclusion. As it was our first Volunteer Wave social, many of our volunteers were meeting for the first time that morning. The energy of the event quickly turned strangers into friends—and not just within our own group. We walked alongside new acquaintances we met right at the check-in table and did the Friendship Walk through the UBC campus while waving purple pom-poms and carrying cheerful signs.

Between the walk and the festivities, volunteers bonded over friendship bracelet-making, hand painting, and—of course—good food! The event also featured lively performances by The Northwest Collective a cappella group and Sirota’s Alchymy martial arts troupe, making for a vibrant, joy-filled day without a dull moment.

After the event, a few of us explored UBC’s campus together, grabbing a box (or two) of Girl Guide cookies and sampling the famous Marbelous cookie at Blue Chip Café.

It was a bright, easy-going Saturday morning that reminded us of something essential: while service is at the heart of what we do, community is what keeps us coming back. Sometimes, the best way to strengthen the Volunteer Wave is to pause, connect, and simply enjoy time together.

Want to connect with other volunteers?

Join the Volunteer Wave community on Bloomerang to RSVP for our next volunteer social or networking event. We host at least one hangout each month, open to anyone—whether you’ve volunteered with us before or are simply looking to meet others who share your values of kindness and community.