When the school year started, Michael McCormick, the statewide coordinator for a program called Best Buddies International, could see the potential. Best Buddies, founded by Anthony Kennedy Shriver with chapters in 37 countries, pairs a kid with intellectual disabilities with a mainstream buddy at school. The two become a social team, looking out for one another, saving a seat in the lunch room, giving encouragement on the day of the big test and so on.

McCormick, a retired Maui businessman, agreed to help expand the program in Hawai'i, starting first on his home island. Over the summer, he took representatives from Baldwin and Maui high schools to the training program in Bloomington, Ind. Once school started, he held matching parties at each school and started planning activities for the matched pairs to attend together — dances, pizza parties, movie nights.

In just the span of a few months, Best Buddies now has chapters at Maui, Baldwin, King Kekaulike and Kihei Charter high schools. Before Christmas, they had their first dance. Plans are to expand statewide.

Last month, Best Buddies Hawaii received a $10,000 check from the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation as part of the annual "Sharing the Joys of the Holidays" luncheon. At the event held in Waikiki, Maui High Best Buddies Vice President Justine Castillo gave a speech on behalf of the organization. She talked about going to the Best Buddies International Leadership Conference over the summer:

"One of the speakers that touched me was a young lady with Down syndrome named Karen Gaffney, who is an amazing swimmer with a good heart, who swam nine miles across Lake Tahoe in 59-degree water. She said that it was more difficult for her to make friends in society than for her to swim across Lake Tahoe."

For a high school student with intellectual disabilities, having a buddy to lean on and laugh with can make a huge difference. That part is clear. Castillo talked about how the benefits of friendship are mutual.

"This program means to me a long-lasting friendship with my buddy and it opened my eyes to realize how much it means to be seen as a friend," she told the crowd. "The Best Buddies slogan 'I See You' is from an African saying, I see you as a person, an individual, and especially for who you are. ... Emilio has changed my life and touched my heart in so many ways. I am proud to say, I See You Emilio, I See You as my friend."

To learn more, visit www.bestbuddieshawaii.org.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.