Touching the life of an individual can be done in so many ways. A simple smile, a phone call or a letter may be the only things one has to do.

Eastern’s Best Buddies program, however, makes enhancing other’s lives its mission.

The program works with college students and pairs them up with individuals with intellectual disabilities from the Greywood Foundation and Tull House, which are both group homes in the Charleston and Mattoon communities, said Elizabeth Nicoletti, a senior early childhood special education and early childhood education major.

Best Buddies is a worldwide program with more than 360 campus chapters. Eastern has been a part of the program for six years.

Nicoletti has been Best Buddies director for four years, and she said it’s affected her life in many ways.

“(The people we work with) touch our lives so much more than they realize,” she said. “They’re always positive and can make us smile when we’ve had an awful day; it’s just so rewarding on both ends for anyone who does it.”

Best Buddies held its first recruitment meeting Monday evening, and Nicoletti said she expects 15 returning members to join the 15 new members who attended.

“Our first couple of meetings are simply for recruitment, where we explain what we do throughout the year,” Nicoletti said.

Students who volunteer are required to call their buddy once a week, take them out to the community twice a month and attend the four group outings throughout the year.

Mary O’Dell, a senior special education major and three-year member of Best Buddies, said she has done a lot of different things both in the area and up north with her buddy.

“I’ve taken them back home with me to Cubs games, Sox games and Bulls games,” O’Dell said. “We also go out to dinner or Wal-Mart, and I try to teach them how to pay for things at restaurants and while shopping.”

Last year, Eastern students worked with more than 70 individuals from Charleston and Mattoon.

Through working with these individuals, Nicoletti said the program hopes to promote friendships through the one-to-one matches between the college students and the individuals with disabilities.

“I’ve learned a thousand times more from my buddy than what I could’ve ever taught them,” O’Dell said. “They care about you before they even know you, and they teach you what’s really important in life.”

For those interested in volunteering, Best Buddies will hold its next meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the basement of Lawson Hall.