As New Albany has progressed over the past 15 years, the non-profit, Buddy Up For Life, has progressed with it. It was founded in 2008 by Beth Gibson, a recent mother of a young child with Down Syndrome. Beth has been in New Albany since 1997 and headquartered at Innovate New Albany since 2018.


To start, Beth’s son, Will, wanted to play tennis at 3 years old, but there was a lack of resources to teach kids like Will tennis. Mrs. Gibson recognized the need for increased service to individuals with down syndrome and decided to found Buddy Up, a program designed to accommodate each child with a Buddy to teach them tennis. Finally, Buddy Up’s mission is not only to create healthy and fit lifestyles but also to foster friendships and independent, fulfilling livelihoods.


Fast forward to present day, Buddy Up has grown tremendously, with 3 pillars; Health and Wellness, Friendship, and Independence.


Health and Wellness was the initial pillar of Buddy Up and as a result, the tennis sector now has over 25 chapters nationwide. Health and Wellness also includes Buddy Up Fitness and recently, Buddy Up Pickleball. Also important to mention in the Health and Wellness pillar is that each participating athlete has volunteer (a Buddy) to guide them through the programs. This Buddy system allows not only for more productive instruction, but also, a connection and friendship that benefits the athletes and volunteers both.


In terms of the Friendship pillar, Buddy Up has a summer camp that although hindered by the pandemic, has allowed for great memories and growth for the athletes.

Lastly, there is the Independence Pillar. Although the most recently founded pillar of Buddy Up, it is one of the most beneficial. This independence pillar is life skills based and as the name suggests, allows for individuals with Down Syndrome to live an independent and fulfilling life. The life skills include a a focus on communication skills, a cooking course, a personal finance course, a technology based course and lastly, a safety course. These skills are taught by accredited teachers who are able to teach the skills at any level, no matter the age group, and varying learning styles of children with Down Syndrome.


At the end of the day, Innovate New Albany is a business incubator, so what is a non-profit organization like Buddy Up doing here? It was made it clear that although Buddy Up is a non-profit, the day-to-day operations are still focused on a business first mentality. This means managerial styles are still important, sustainability is huge, and having “bench strength” in operations of Buddy Up are important. Non-profit organizations still need to be on top of their expenses, consistent branding and marketing is important, and the programs still need to grow and improve each year. All of this to say, the business advantages offered by Innovate are still beneficial to non-profits such as Buddy Up.


Buddy Up has 25 tennis chapters nationwide, a large number that covers a truly large part of the country. In terms of expansion, the tennis chapters will be capped at thirty while they would like to fitness sector to double in size. They see tremendous growth potential in the pickleball “market” while the life skills chapters still need a few years before scaling is possible.


Volunteering is a huge part of Buddy Up, and it gains its volunteers through sharing its opportunities in the community, primarily through schools, partnering with Ohio State University’s speech and hearing department, and using those same strategies nationwide.

All of this started because Will wanted to learn tennis. In Mrs. Gibson’s words, Buddy Up has “exceeded expectations” and from the small, one-coach, tennis organization it once was, it now has changed lives throughout the country. Buddy Up is different because it is personal to each participant, including Mrs. Gibson, with everything stemming from Will. The retention rate is huge and families have come back many times over. Despite this, there is still room to grow, and to further help Down Syndrome individuals in every aspect of their lives. Buddy Up is a great program and could not be run by a better group, it has helped the lives of many individuals, families, and volunteers alike.


The goal of Buddy Up for Life is to redefine the social, economic, psychological, and physical expectations set for those who live with Down syndrome by providing their athletes the tools and mindset to live their life to the fullest- that’s why they do what they do. If you would like to learn more about Buddy Up For Life, Inc. and how you can make an impact, please visit their website at BuddyUpforLife.org or email Beth at Beth@BUforLife.org.

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