Bring a Buddy to your Special Olympics BC program
Special Olympics BC invites our amazing athletes and volunteers to Bring a Buddy to experience the joy of year-round programs – and get great giveaways!
Get ready for an exciting return—Bring a Buddy is back from April to August, 2025!
When a program hosts a Bring a Buddy Day, athletes and volunteers can bring a friend to meet the program's amazing athletes and find out how much fun it is to participate with Special Olympics BC. Everyone involved will receive Special Olympics BC branded giveaway items in gratitude!
Who?
Each registered athlete and volunteer in Special Olympics BC sport programs can bring a friend that is not currently participating in Special Olympics programs.
Head coaches fill out a registration form (coming soon) to receive giveaways for their program, and then decide the date of their Bring a Buddy Day by chatting with athletes and volunteers.
Athletes and volunteers that are interested in participating should let their head coach know to ensure athlete-to-volunteer ratios won't be affected.
When?
Bring a Buddy will return April to August 2025. The head coach of each program can choose the Bring a Buddy Day for their program in that timeframe.
Why?
By participating, you’ll play a vital part in bringing more athletes and volunteers to help make Special Olympics BC’s life-changing year-round programs possible.
Our data and studies show that word of mouth and in-person experiences are among the most successful ways to welcome new athletes and volunteers to join our joyful community. Let’s show everyone how they can find their most rewarding experience ever with Special Olympics BC’s amazing athletes and empowering year-round programs!
Role of Head Coaches
- Register your program (registration form coming soon).
- Receive the Bring a Buddy package from Special Olympics BC with giveaway items, handouts, and a Safeway gift card for snacks for participants.
- Chose a Bring a Buddy date between April and August that works for both your athletes and volunteers.
- Distribute the giveaway items and handouts to participating athletes and volunteers, and/or save for future use.
- When your athlete and volunteer brings a buddy, prepare to briefly speak to welcome all the buddies, sharing why Special Olympics matters so much to them and why everyone should get involved.
Role of Current Athletes and Volunteers
- Invite a friend to join you on your program's Bring a Buddy Day.
- Receive a giveaway bag.
- Give handouts to family and friends and encourage them to sign up either as a new athlete or volunteer.
Role of Local Committees
- Spread the word about Bring a Buddy Days!
SOBC's Role
- Supply all prizing, promotional resources, best practices for hosting a successful try-it experience, and handouts to be distributed at programs telling how to register as an athlete or volunteer.
- Create and monitor the Bring a Buddy registration form.
- Promote the opportunity in provincial channels.
- After the program ends, execute follow-up communication with all participants to help encourage buddies to officially register as volunteers and continue to learn more about Special Olympics.
A buddy doesn’t need to visit the exact program or role that the Local needs to fill. The idea is to introduce them to the joyful experience of Special Olympics, and let them know about open programs and Local Committee roles. Buddies can be invited to full programs!
Questions?
Please contact your Community Development Coordinator or SOBC Engagement Coordinator Donna Ma at dma@specialolympics.bc.ca or 604-908-6491!