Episode 5: Inclusion Lives at Best Buddies of MA & RI – with Patrick Shaughnessy Jordan: Welcome to the Plan for Special Needs Trusts podcast presented by PLAN, the Planned Lifetime Assistance Network of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Our plan is your plan, and I'm your host, Jordan Rich. Today we welcome a wonderful guest and friend of PLAN. He's Patrick Shaughnessy, State Director of Best Buddies of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Best Buddies offers one to one friendship, integrated employment and leadership development programs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. And they do some incredible work. You're going to learn a lot more about Best Buddies and the very productive association this organization has with PLAN of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Patrick, welcome. It's great to meet you. And we've heard a lot of great things about Best Buddies over the years. And first of all, how did you get involved yourself? What brought you to Best Buddies? Patrick: A long story, Jordan. First off, thanks for having me here. I was punished at 14 years old and told I had to go volunteer to a camp for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities called Exceptional Citizens Week, which kind of exposed me to this community that I had never been exposed to Jordan: At 14? Patrick: At 14 years old. Jordan: Okay. And that changed the path for you, Patrick, at that point, somewhat. Patrick: Very much so. I didn't know how much at the time, but it really did. So thanks, dad. Jordan: There was some great mentorship there because you're doing great work for Best Buddies now. Patrick: Yeah. So about ten years ago, I got introduced to the State Director at the time, and we sort of hit it off. So I started volunteering and supporting, did the Hyannisport challenge and raised some money for them, ran the Boston Marathon for Best Buddies and got really connected. And three and a half years ago, he was moving on and called me and said, hey, you gotta get out of the corporate world and come work in your passion. At the time it made total sense and here I am. Jordan: And it still does. Patrick: Absolutely. Jordan: So let's talk a little bit about the organization's primary focus, and then we'll tie it into the work that you do in conjunction with PLAN. And we're thrilled to have you here. Best Buddies has a lot of things going for it. It's the friendship aspect, the one to one connection that is made. It's the employment help, it's the leadership and development. It's a lot of spokes in the wheel. You want to run down in more specific detail what these are all about. Patrick: Yeah, absolutely. So the sort of overall big picture is Best Buddies from elementary school age all the way up through adulthood, is focused on giving people with disabilities the same opportunities that any of us would have had throughout that whole time. So you mentioned the friendship program that was the core of what Best Buddies was started on, that's in schools which are now elementary all the way through college. And something that you and I and most people without IDD probably took for granted, but something as simple as having a friend. Jordan: So critical, it makes such a difference in the lives of these people. Patrick: It really does. Confidence, acceptance, all of those things that again, I think some of us take for granted. Jordan: And that works. We'll start with that one that works with volunteers who want to get involved. Maybe they're told to get involved at 14, like you, but maybe they want to get involved. So from a logistics point of view, how does it work? How does friendship development work? Patrick: So the friendship program, we work through schools. So like I said, elementary schools, the real focus is on sort of not allowing any biases to be created in kids that age. As kids age and we go up through grammar schools and high schools and colleges, we really try to foster that one to one friendship aspect. So there are Best Buddies chapters at 220ish (I know we're always trying to grow an add), which actually PLAN has been very helpful with. Jordan: Are we talking 220 locally you mean? Patrick: That's in Mass and Rhode Island. Jordan: In Mass and Rhode Island. That's pretty impressive because you look at the map, it covers the whole country. Best Buddies and Massachusetts is prime real estate. That's terrific. Patrick: Yeah. Jordan: So you've got kids, you're starting out in the early years. And when you bring young kids together with other young kids, that's a beautiful, fertile ground to develop good behavior and good positive role modeling. Absolutely. It's a little more challenging, perhaps, as people age kids and even young adults. Patrick: Yeah. Like myself, I hadn't been exposed to that community till I was 14. And be honest with you, I went kicking and screaming. I didn't want to do it. It's trickier in high school, especially if those students haven't been in chapters earlier in there. Jordan: Let's talk about employment because I've been involved as well, promoting organizations that train and then try to find jobs for those who are developmentally disabled. It's such an incredible move forward for people, anyone to have a job to feel that they're needed and they're earning money. How does it work with Best Buddies? Patrick: Well, I'll start a little earlier than our Jobs program. We have something called our Pre-employment Training program. Jordan: Excellent. Sure. Patrick: So that is essentially from age 16 to 22, when students would normally age out of the school system here. And that is a training program that includes things like mock interviews, resume writing, public speaking, all the training things that you and I might learn in college. Jordan: Right. Good skill sets for anyone, but particularly for these people who have not been exposed. Patrick: Exactly. Jordan: Terrific. So that's that pre employment training that you're talking about. And then it takes another step forward when we're talking about the real world, right? Patrick: Exactly. So then ideally they're prepped to go into our Jobs program. And how that works is Best Buddies has partnerships on the employer side that we're always growing. If anyone out there is in to hire, as we say, certainly reach out to us, and then we job coach, probably about I'd say about 200 people at any given time in different stages of their employment, and we work with them to find them a job that is exactly what they would like to do. So I'm sure you wanted to be doing podcasts when you were getting out of college. Jordan: Well, they didn't invent them yet, but yeah. No, I wanted to do what I'm doing now. And it's such a dream to live your dream and work it and then imagine what it means to somebody who has not been given a chance to that point. And this is anecdotal but the people I know who have hired those in this population have almost across the board been thrilled with the employees. There's a certain dedication, a certain work ethic, if I can use that term, that's pretty amazing. Patrick: I hear that a lot. I'll meet with employers that have never done it. And there's all this data that says differently, your other employees will be happier. And I throw all this stuff out. I mean, everyone's very skeptical. Not everybody's very skeptical at first, but most have a lot of questions and everything as they should. But 99% of the time I hear back a couple of months in that they’re so glad we do that. They're the best employees we have. Can we hire somebody else? Jordan: That's great. Let's talk briefly now about PLAN, because you're here on our podcast. They were excited, the folks at PLAN in the main office that we were going to do this because you have a nice relationship. And what does PLAN do for your clients? For some of the people you help. Patrick: So PLAN is what we have Best Buddies call an inclusion partner, which is essentially a supporter of everything we've just talked about. So all of our programs and all of those things, and what that does is connect them to our constituents, right? So whether that's students and parents going through our school programs or people in our jobs program or pre-employees who are really entering the workforce in the world and trying to start their careers and live good lives. And as you and I know, the financial side of that is huge for everybody, let alone people with IDD. Jordan: Right. You're dealing with both the young people and then the parents who have a real concern about what's going to happen later in their lives and the lives of their kids. So it's a huge part of it. And PLAn is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. And we hear all kinds of comments from people that say they feel better about that security that PLAN can offer. Patrick: Yeah. I'll tell a little side story, but when I was debating leaving corporate and working with this community, I had a mentor who has a son with autism. And we just bounced things off each other. And I said, what could I do and what aspects aren't being covered for this group? And she said financial safety. She said, if you can get into the financial side, that's her biggest worry as a parent. And of course, I didn't go that route, but it always stuck with me. And actually, when I first met Joan at PLAN, I told her the same story. And I said, this is massively needed for this community. So it's great that they're doing that Jordan: Good symbiotic relationship. And I'll speak for the folks over there. They're very excited and proud to be working with you. Let's talk about another aspect, which is leadership development. And again, that's sort of a general term, but it all relates to seeing people move through adolescence, move through young adulthood, and become responsible citizens. Talk a little bit about the Best Buddies’ approach to leadership development. Patrick: Like every probably high school teenager, there's different levels of confidence, right? And certainly people with IDD have other challenges. And I'm not saying that doesn't breed nonconfidence, but our main approach is both through within the schools. We have some leadership programs. We put on a leadership conference every summer in 120 degree Indiana University every July. We generally have about 2,500 people from Best Buddies chapters from around the world. I'm happy to say that typically 180ish to 200 are from Mass and Rhode Island of those. But that's a conference that you and I would go to. So there's different tracks. Hey, you want to learn public speaking and write a speech about your life and your challenges or anything, really? And you want to get up in front of 2,500 people and give that speech like, hey, we're here to encourage you and do all that. There's a Jobs track. So are you 18 but really want to get ready for that job at 22 and get prepped? Every hour there's a class for you. Jordan: So I think the point that I'm gleaning is that this is not a cookie cutter approach to helping people navigate life. This is, hey, what can we do with you and for you to make it better? And it must be really gratifying because everyone's different and every human being has his or her own pace and level and wants and fears. But it must be a great feeling for you and the staff to see someone move through the system and develop these skills and be proud of themselves Patrick: 100%. I won't speak for my staff, but I'll speak for myself and say it's. Seeing the growth throughout all of our programs is (I don't want to say it's what keeps me here(, but it's probably the best thing that. Jordan: Can you share, Patrick, with me and of course, the listeners story of two (first name only) of individuals that have been doing some amazing things through Best Buddies. Just a couple of stories that bring it to life a little bit more. So we have a context here. Patrick: I'm going to jump outside of Mass and Rhode Island really quick. Jordan: Sure. Patrick: Best Buddies has an ambassador program, and this is (not to harp on the public speaking), but these are people that have gone through our leadership programs and are now ambassadors for Best Buddies. And we have those in Mass and Rhode Island, but we also have them nationally. We had an ambassador perform at the Super Bowl halftime show this year. Jordan: Wow. Patrick: And he's an awesome guy. Met him a few times. He'll be up here for Our Hyannisport bike ride here in two weeks. Absolute great guy. He's kind of made a viral social media He performed with The Weeknd. And he's the first person with IDD, we think, to perform at Super Bowl halftime show. Jordan: Doesn't get any more awesome than that. Patrick: Right. Jordan: All right. You mentioned the Super Bowl, and I have to go here. You know where I'm going. One of the most famous Americans on the planet just happens to be a Best Buddy volunteer. And for several years when he was here. And we do miss him. Tom Brady with the Patriots was actively involved, and that had to be for you guys, just great to have him on the team, as they say. Patrick: Yeah. Obviously, Tom is not only a great football player, but a great supporter of the IDD community. And in my experiences with him, just a really genuine guy as well. But yeah, I mean, you couldn't ask for a better sort of celebrity supporter while he was here. He actually continues to help us out on a more national and global level. He's got his face on the Best Buddies license plate in Florida, Jordan: And he's not stopping. He's still throwing that football well, as anybody. So good for him. People can volunteer, and what kind of volunteer opportunities would there be? Patrick: So there's a ton. They're always looking for help individually and on corporate levels. We spoke about our job development and pre employment training. So we have businesses that volunteer and their staff will come in and do mock interviews, for instance. These days, a lot of those are over Zoom, but we can still do that. We have companies like PLAN that will come and present on financial things. Hey, you're going into the workforce, maybe some things you want to think about. Jordan: Right. Patrick: And then we put on events all the time. Last couple of years, obviously, they've been a little stunted, but we're always looking for help at our friendship walks, for instance, or our Hyannis Port Challenge, which is our 100-mile bike ride from Boston to Cape Cod. Jordan: So people can go to the website, obviously, which is Best Buddies.org/mari for Massachusetts and Rhode Island. You combine the two states and you got a powerhouse. You get a lot of people that are in the mix, which is awesome. Just like PLAN, Mass and Rhode Island. It's a good combination. Patrick: Yeah. It was interesting when we started that conversation. They were both as well. Jordan: Let me congratulate you. The world will now know that as we tape this you're a few days away from getting married. Patrick: I am. Two days. Jordan: Good luck and Congratulations with that. But most importantly, thank you for representing this organization so well and being at the helm and you got to thank your dad for punishing you in quotes. Patrick: I know I've done it. Jordan: The question that everybody has on their minds is what did you do to deserve the punishment and you don't have to say Patrick: Honestly I would say if I could remember we both tried to remember and we're unable to. Jordan: That's not the important part. The important part is where you are today. We want to thank you. As a representative of PLAN, thank you for all the fine work and for the fact that inclusion partnerships like these really work and we wish you the best. bestbuddies.org/mari. Thank you so much for joining us today and keep up the great work. Patrick: Thanks so much. Jordan Jordan: We want to thank you for listening to the Plan for Special Needs Trusts Podcast presented by PLAN. The Planned Lifetime Assistance Network of Massachusetts and Rhode Island Plan is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit company where the goal for every one of its clients is always to preserve assets, protect benefits and live well. 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