Leadership Conference 2015
HS Program Breakout: I’m In to BB Resources
I’m In to Best Buddies Resources
Objective
 To introduce students to Best Buddies Online (BBO) and provide them with an overview of the
resources on their chapter portal
 To provide students with support so that they can utilize Best Buddies Online with ease
 To have students engage in learning about BB by asking them to share how and when they use BBO
 Discuss common challenges and brainstorm solution
PM Breakout Time: 45 minutes
Materials Needed: BBO access and computer projection
BBO Specifics that will be covered:
 Why it is important to keep BBO up to date
 How to submit and approve Membership Applications (MA)
 Completing Chapter Friendship Updates
 Updating your portal and calendar
 Process of Mid-Year Reports/Annual Reports
 Sending Emails
Tip: identify a returning chapter president to help lead this session and provide personal feedback/tips on how
to best utilize BBO
Facilitation Notes
Introduction discussion (15 Minutes)
PM should use the classroom computer throughout the session to navigate and explore
www.bestbuddiesonline.org.
** There are optional videos online to share with students during breakouts.
Begin session by asking students the three questions below and have them share their answers. Ensure
students cover the important points below during the discussion:


What is BBO?
o Best Buddies Online (BBO): the official website that all Best Buddies participants use to join,
participate in, and manage their involvement – either in a Best Buddies chapters or in a citizen
one-to-one match. This site provides staff with information and oversight of their programs and
shares with our larger organization the successes and challenges of our programs to help
ensure we cultivate and build the best program possible for our participants. The site includes
links to resources and materials to support involvement.
Why is BBO important for every Best Buddies chapter to use?
o Collects safety and liability information
o Ensures approved participation of all members
o Shares information with all participants on events and meetings for their chapter
o Allows PM and HQ to use information for their records and funding purposes
o Tracks and records important historical information for each chapter
LC 2015: HS Program Breakout: I’m In to BB Resources
1
Leadership Conference 2015
HS Program Breakout: I’m In to BB Resources
o

Provides common access for Best Buddies staff and student leaders to communicate and
update members, families, and BB community
What is admin access?
o Some chapter officers and advisors have admin access to BBO to manage member rosters, add
calendar events and make matches. These members with chapter admin access are
responsible for updating and maintaining their BBO chapter portals throughout the school year.
o Chapter Admin users have access to information that members submit on their application. This
information is a privileged. This means that as a chapter leader you agree not to share any
personal information with anyone outside of Best Buddies or other chapter members.
Membership Application (MA) (10 Minutes)
During this section, PMs will discuss why it is important for each member to fill out a MA. Note: it may be
difficult for some schools to get all their members to sign up online, but it is important to emphasize that all
members have to be approved in order to attend events and activities held within and outside of their
chapter. Have officers share ideas on how they plan to get all their members to fill out a MA.
 Collecting Membership Applications:
o All chapter members must submit a MA every year – this includes members and advisors who
participated last year
o Former members can click to “renew application” in the MA completion page on BBO
o It is the chapter leader’s responsibility to ensure that all chapter members have submitted a MA
on BBO; note: students cannot participate in BB without an approved MA
o Username and passwords are emailed to students after they are approved. Admin have access
to this information if students forget or misplace their information.
o Optional Video - http://vimeo.com/103813415
Chapter Friendship Updates (10 minutes)
Discuss the following questions with the students to share ideas on friendship updates
 What is a friendship update?
o Brief reports submitted by a matched buddy pair each month to document how they met the
mission and share successes/challenges in meeting expectations
 What are some techniques your chapter has used in the past to get buddy pairs to submit friendship
updates?
o Example: Friendship Box - Students fill out paper form and enter it into a box located in the
classroom. Then an officer inputs them in BBO.
o Having students meet in a computer lab for a chapter meeting, giving buddy pairs time during
meeting to fill out the friendship update
o A friendship update coordinator visits with pairs during events and – using a laptop or tablet –
completes the FU for the pair on site
 Review steps for completing full friendship update
o First, reports are made by each buddy pair throughout the month.
o These are due for their final update on the 1st of each month for the previous month
o Buddy pairs should be encouraged to do friendship updates together or alternate. This way one
member does not have to complete them every month alone.
o The chapter leaders review buddy pair updates
o Chapter leaders submit full chapter updates by the 5th of the month, including updates from
every pair
o Report is reviewed by PM
LC 2015: HS Program Breakout: I’m In to BB Resources
2
Leadership Conference 2015
HS Program Breakout: I’m In to BB Resources
Each month, it is the responsibility of the chapter leader to review these updates and to ensure that all of the
data for matched buddy pairs in the chapter are complete and accurate before submitting to your PM.
 Batch update
o Option to complete one full report for the entire chapter
o Should only be used if all pairs participated in same events throughout the month to meet the
commitment
Updating your Chapter Portal / Calendar (5 minutes)
This is a time to share with students other resources on BBO (Admin) to help organize their chapter and to
keep the members and PM updated.
 Calendar:
o PMs should go through how to make updates on the page by creating new calendar events and
adding pictures to the chapter portal so that students can see how the process works. It is
important to have a student leader involved in this process so that you can access their portal to
update and they can share their tips/tools.
o All events and meetings must be posted on the chapter calendar in order to be reflected on the
chapter mid-year and annual reports.
o Optional Video: https://vimeo.com/107943858
 Additional portal updates:
o Each chapter portal homepage includes a photo gallery feature
o Chapter announcements can be made on the bulletin board of each schools portal
homepage. This is the first thing members see when they login to the portal.
o The BBO calendar is used to record all chapter activities, chapter meetings, officer meetings,
and fundraisers; posting all events and meetings here is required for all chapters.  All chapter
members can view the calendar, but only chapter admin users can create new events or edit
calendar events. 
Mid-Year Reports (MYR) & Annual Reports (5 minutes)
Discuss expectation to meet with PM during MYR and annual report time to review chapter progress and
develop goals
 Chapter mid-year and annual reports are required reports from each chapter to Best Buddies. 
 These reports provide the chapter with the opportunity to share their successes and provide feedback
to Best Buddies regarding the program. 
Communication with Members (5 minutes)
Ask the students what kind of communication they use with their members. Have them share how they make
announcements for chapter meetings, officer meetings, chapter activities, fundraisers, and events.
 All admin users have access to the information that members put on their MA. As a chapter leader, it is
important that they realize this information is a privilege. Meaning that they agreed not to share
personal information. With this information available it makes it easier to establish communication
within a chapter.
 BBO provides an export option to retrieve members information in an excel file to make communication
easier.
Wrap up (5 minutes)
LC 2015: HS Program Breakout: I’m In to BB Resources
3
Leadership Conference 2015
HS Program Breakout: I’m In to BB Resources
Provide students time to ask questions or any comments they feel is important about the BBO topics that were
covered in this section.
LC 2015: HS Program Breakout: I’m In to BB Resources
4