Seneca Valley champions friendship and inclusion at Best Buddies Walk
CRANBERRY TWP — Despite the unseasonably frigid air Saturday, May 31, plenty of warmth radiated from the crowd at North Boundary Park where students, families and community members banded together for Seneca Valley’s second annual Best Buddies Walk.
The symbolic half-mile trek supported Best Buddies International, a nonprofit dedicated to serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through friendship, inclusion and compassion.
About 300 participants registered for the event, which saw a notable uptick from its inaugural year in 2024.
“I’m thrilled (with the turnout),” said Dr. Kathleen Mahon, a psychologist and lead adviser of the Best Buddies Chapter at Haine Elementary School. “I think that it just really speaks to how important this is because we did have such great attendance on a freezing cold day.”
Earlier this year, Mahon was named Best Buddies Adviser of the Year for the Pittsburgh region for her commitment to the mission of Best Buddies and her leadership in first establishing the school’s chapter back in 2023.
Mahon pointed out that every dollar raised will stay in Pennsylvania, helping advance the organization’s work across local communities.
As part of the nonprofit, students participated in collaborative activities throughout the school year, such as pumpkin painting and ornament decoration for a Christmas tree that was on display in the Cranberry Township Municipal Center.
“It’s amazing that everybody could come out for this,” said Kristen McClintock, a teacher at Haine Elementary. “It was rainy earlier, but the rain stopped for us, which is really nice. It didn’t keep people away, which is awesome.”
More than 20 volunteers helped to make the event possible, according to Mahon. Cheerleaders from several branches of the Seneca Valley School District lined up near the starting point to cheer on participants.
