public class BuddyClass
    public shared Age as integer = 99

    public shared function IsAlive() as boolean
       return true
    end function
end Class


can use this class like this:
BuddyClass.Age
BuddyClass.IsAlive

no need to do:
new BuddyClass

Use this method to create a class that doesn't need to be declared new to return properties

Shared Class With No Need for New Instances

VB.NET