by Sydney Rae Appelbaum
“Teach a child according to his needs and even when he is old, he will not depart from
it.”
Proverbs 22:6
How is one to define the word special? Is it merely a term that helps to segregate one entity from another? Does the word illustrate a preference or an entitlement? If this is how the word special is commonly understood, what does it mean to have special needs? As Gov. Sarah Palin stated at the Republican National Convention, “Children with special needs inspire a special love.”
A child with special needs refers to someone that requires routine, adjustment of
expectations, special accommodations and around-the-clock care. However, my
heartwarming experience working with the Friendship Circle has taught me otherwise.
The Friendship Circle is an international nonprofit organization started in 1994 under the auspices of the Chabad in West Bloomfield Hills, Mich. At that time there were only eight volunteers. Today over 100 circles are providing love, care and inspiration to thousands. Like a stone cast into a pond, the ripple effect continues.
The circle is based on the biblical commandment, “To love your fellow as yourself.” This organization is like no other. While other groups offer therapy and counseling or raise funds to help find cures, the circle is simply about the fun and love that friendship fosters. God could have created a perfect world, a world free of suffering, poverty, illness and injustice. But He created the world imperfectly and us flawed so that we could improve it ourselves and grow spiritually. Devora Wilhelm, director of the Upper East Side Chabad, explained to the volunteers that these special souls are sent to this world for a very specific mission and they have positive effects on the people around them.
Friendship Circle pairs special needs children with a teen volunteer. Some volunteers experience trepidation at first but everyone participates at the level that is comfortable for them. There is no pressure. I participate in the Friends At Home program at the Chabad of the Upper East Side and have worked with the same friend for the past four years. Brocha, my adorable
5-year-old friend who has Down syndrome, jumps on me excitedly every time we see each other.
As much as I give of myself, it doesn’t measure up to what special needs children feel they are receiving. Brocha has a very busy calendar fraught with many therapy dates but few play dates. However, during our outings to Carl Schurz Park I am inundated by parents often wanting to introduce their children to Brocha, to teach tolerance at a young age. People fear what they do not understand.
It had been years since I rode a tricycle, stuck my hand in a fish tank, played with glitter glue and said prayers over grape juice and a plastic challah. Brocha and I focus on what we share rather than on our differences that divide us. Our friendship fosters equality. There is something very tranquil about working with Brocha. There are no judgments; my young friend does not care what I look like. She doesn’t look at my shoes and notice that they aren’t the newest Tory Burch quilted flats that everyone has at school.
Some families gain more than friends for their children. “The Friendship Circle has brought Judaism into our home,” explains Rhonda Miller, a Maryland Friendship Circle parent of 15-year-old Jamie. “After my daughter Jamie and her friend made decorations for the Chabad sukkah, she insisted that we build our own sukkah.”
My work with the Friendship Circle has taught me about facing adversity, overcoming obstacles, personal triumph, love and the true measure of a human being. I am inspired by Brocha and am humbled by her accomplishments. Brocha has taught me the true value of friendship. Volunteering for the Friendship Circle makes a difference but what people do not understand is that it is the children with special needs who make a difference in our lives. I have learned that one hour a week is enough to change a lifetime forever.
Working with children with special needs teaches you to live; every moment is special to them. The Friendship Circle has taught me how important it is to spend time with people who truly care about you. Through Friendship Circle, unconditional love blossoms.
For more information on the Friendship Circle and upcoming events
visit Friendshipcircle.org.
Sydney Rae Appelbaum is a senior at Abraham Joshua Heschel High School in Manhattan.
Showing posts with label Friendship Circle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friendship Circle. Show all posts
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Chabad Lubavitch in Michigan - sidebar
Chabad in Michigan
1958: Young Russian couple Rabbi Berel Shemtov and his wife, Batsheva, arrive in Detroit to start a Michigan chapter of Chabad Lubavitch.
1994: The Friendship Circle, a center in West Bloomfield to help physically and mentally disabled children, opens. Daniel B. Sobel Friendship House, a center for addicts adjacent to the Friendship Circle, also opens.
June 2008: More than 1,000 gather to mark the 50th anniversary of Chabad Lubavitch with a keynote address by one of Israel's chief rabbis.
December 2009: Estimated completion date of new Chabad building for Michigan Jewish Institute.
Source: Chabad Lubavitch
1958: Young Russian couple Rabbi Berel Shemtov and his wife, Batsheva, arrive in Detroit to start a Michigan chapter of Chabad Lubavitch.
1994: The Friendship Circle, a center in West Bloomfield to help physically and mentally disabled children, opens. Daniel B. Sobel Friendship House, a center for addicts adjacent to the Friendship Circle, also opens.
June 2008: More than 1,000 gather to mark the 50th anniversary of Chabad Lubavitch with a keynote address by one of Israel's chief rabbis.
December 2009: Estimated completion date of new Chabad building for Michigan Jewish Institute.
Source: Chabad Lubavitch
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Birthright opens circle to include special needs
by Johanna Ginsberg
NJJN Staff Writer
March 27, 2008
Avi Saunders 18, of Livingston and Eric Kaye, 20, of Parsippany just returned from their once-in-a-lifetime Taglit-Birthright Israel trip.
Just thinking about being at the Western Wall made Avi clap his hands and sigh in contentment. Eric recalled how happy he was when they landed in Israel and emerged into the warm weather.
Those were highlights of a trip their parents never thought their children would be able to take. Avi and Eric both have autism.
Hosting youngsters with special needs was a first-time experience for Mayanot, a trip provider for Taglit-Birthright Israel, a program that provides free or heavily subsidized Israel tours for young travelers to Israel.
“There’s no reason people should miss Birthright Israel just because they have a disability. Every young Jew should be able to go,” said Avi Weinstein, director of Mayanot’s Birthright programming.
“I first thought, ‘no way,’” said Avi’s mother, Lori, when she found out about the trip last August. “I’m not letting him go 6,000 miles away without me. I couldn’t do it; he couldn’t do it.”
But as she heard more about the trip, she said, she warmed to the idea. “What better place for him to spread his wings and become a little more independent?” she said.
Linda Kaye was excited about the trip from the beginning.
“On the day he left, I burst into tears of joy that he could have this opportunity,” she said.
The trip was far more complicated to arrange than regular trips, Weinstein acknowledged. It included a thorough interview process, conducted with the help of two doctors who would also accompany the group. The staff-to-participant ratio was kept low, and the trip was conducted at a slower-than-usual pace.
“Birthright is famous for fast-paced, lack of sleep, zipping through Israel. We slowed it down for this trip, but they’ll still get to see many of the same attractions,” he said, interviewed by phone from his office in New York before the end of the trip.
“We’ve always had people asking if we do trips for people with special needs,” said Weinstein. “But this year we had way more than the normal amount of people asking.”
Avi, the oldest of three siblings, attends the Children’s Institute in Verona, where he takes senior-level classes. With his family, he is a member of the Synagogue of the Suburban Torah Center in Livingston. Eric attends ECLC, a special education school in Chatham for students ages six through 21. In addition to his classes, he receives vocational training there. He is the third of four siblings and with his family is a member of Temple Beth Am in Parsippany.
Avi and Eric, like about half of the trip’s 25 participants, participate in the Friendship Circle, a program for special-needs youngsters run by the Chabad-Lubavitch hasidic movement in communities throughout the country.
Friendship Circle made a concerted effort this year to work with Birthright Israel to organize such a trip, according to Rabbi Zalman Grossbaum, executive director of the Friendship Circle of MetroWest NJ.
On this first go, Mayanot limited the trip to individuals with no physical disabilities and chose applicants who were very high-functioning.
“Most were independent in terms of eating and getting dressed,” Weinstein said.
They plan to continue the trips. “It’s been a beautiful, beautiful trip. There’s definitely a big motivation for us to do it again,” he said.
Avi and Eric, longtime friends, departed from JFK on March 12 and returned March 24 in the early morning hours.
Avi Saunders, far right, with friends on day five of their trip to Israel.
Later that same day, they gathered around the Saunders’ kitchen table, munching leftover hamantaschen, chocolates, and popcorn and reliving the high points of their visit to Israel.
Exhausted and jet-lagged from their overnight flight, the two friends were nonetheless exuberant about all they had seen. They talked about milking goats in Caesarea, taking cable cars to the top of Masada, swimming in the Dead Sea, seeing candles being made in Tzfat, and taking a boat cruise on the Kineret. They watched goat cheese being made, celebrated Purim, rode on camels, and slept in a Bedouin tent in the desert.
“We had to walk a long way to get to the bathroom!” said Avi.
“I liked looking at the buildings in Tel Aviv,” said Eric, who was also surprised at the farmland he saw in Caesarea. “I was expecting it to be more city-like,” he said.
Asked how he felt when the time came to board the plane and head back to the states, Eric said, “I was sad and happy at the same time.”
Upon seeing Avi return from Israel “so happy,” Lori said, “It just elevated me.”
NJJN Staff Writer
March 27, 2008
Avi Saunders 18, of Livingston and Eric Kaye, 20, of Parsippany just returned from their once-in-a-lifetime Taglit-Birthright Israel trip.
Just thinking about being at the Western Wall made Avi clap his hands and sigh in contentment. Eric recalled how happy he was when they landed in Israel and emerged into the warm weather.
Those were highlights of a trip their parents never thought their children would be able to take. Avi and Eric both have autism.
Hosting youngsters with special needs was a first-time experience for Mayanot, a trip provider for Taglit-Birthright Israel, a program that provides free or heavily subsidized Israel tours for young travelers to Israel.
“There’s no reason people should miss Birthright Israel just because they have a disability. Every young Jew should be able to go,” said Avi Weinstein, director of Mayanot’s Birthright programming.
“I first thought, ‘no way,’” said Avi’s mother, Lori, when she found out about the trip last August. “I’m not letting him go 6,000 miles away without me. I couldn’t do it; he couldn’t do it.”
But as she heard more about the trip, she said, she warmed to the idea. “What better place for him to spread his wings and become a little more independent?” she said.
Linda Kaye was excited about the trip from the beginning.
“On the day he left, I burst into tears of joy that he could have this opportunity,” she said.
The trip was far more complicated to arrange than regular trips, Weinstein acknowledged. It included a thorough interview process, conducted with the help of two doctors who would also accompany the group. The staff-to-participant ratio was kept low, and the trip was conducted at a slower-than-usual pace.
“Birthright is famous for fast-paced, lack of sleep, zipping through Israel. We slowed it down for this trip, but they’ll still get to see many of the same attractions,” he said, interviewed by phone from his office in New York before the end of the trip.
“We’ve always had people asking if we do trips for people with special needs,” said Weinstein. “But this year we had way more than the normal amount of people asking.”
Avi, the oldest of three siblings, attends the Children’s Institute in Verona, where he takes senior-level classes. With his family, he is a member of the Synagogue of the Suburban Torah Center in Livingston. Eric attends ECLC, a special education school in Chatham for students ages six through 21. In addition to his classes, he receives vocational training there. He is the third of four siblings and with his family is a member of Temple Beth Am in Parsippany.
Avi and Eric, like about half of the trip’s 25 participants, participate in the Friendship Circle, a program for special-needs youngsters run by the Chabad-Lubavitch hasidic movement in communities throughout the country.
Friendship Circle made a concerted effort this year to work with Birthright Israel to organize such a trip, according to Rabbi Zalman Grossbaum, executive director of the Friendship Circle of MetroWest NJ.
On this first go, Mayanot limited the trip to individuals with no physical disabilities and chose applicants who were very high-functioning.
“Most were independent in terms of eating and getting dressed,” Weinstein said.
They plan to continue the trips. “It’s been a beautiful, beautiful trip. There’s definitely a big motivation for us to do it again,” he said.
Avi and Eric, longtime friends, departed from JFK on March 12 and returned March 24 in the early morning hours.
Avi Saunders, far right, with friends on day five of their trip to Israel.
Later that same day, they gathered around the Saunders’ kitchen table, munching leftover hamantaschen, chocolates, and popcorn and reliving the high points of their visit to Israel.
Exhausted and jet-lagged from their overnight flight, the two friends were nonetheless exuberant about all they had seen. They talked about milking goats in Caesarea, taking cable cars to the top of Masada, swimming in the Dead Sea, seeing candles being made in Tzfat, and taking a boat cruise on the Kineret. They watched goat cheese being made, celebrated Purim, rode on camels, and slept in a Bedouin tent in the desert.
“We had to walk a long way to get to the bathroom!” said Avi.
“I liked looking at the buildings in Tel Aviv,” said Eric, who was also surprised at the farmland he saw in Caesarea. “I was expecting it to be more city-like,” he said.
Asked how he felt when the time came to board the plane and head back to the states, Eric said, “I was sad and happy at the same time.”
Upon seeing Avi return from Israel “so happy,” Lori said, “It just elevated me.”
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Rabbi Zacks Joins Chabad Jewish Community Center
January 24, 2008
By ANN BELL
Special to the Palisadian-Post
Rabbi Shloime Zacks and his wife Moriel have joined the staff at the Chabad Jewish Community Center of Pacific Palisades. They will head two important departments: Adult Education and Community Outreach.
Rabbi Zacks is from London and received his rabbinical ordination from the Rabbinical College of America in Morristown, New Jersey. Following his marriage to Moriel, he spent two years in New York attending college. He also lectured on various subjects (including law, Kabbalah, and character refinement) at two Jewish centers for adult education.
'Growing up the way I did brought me into contact with the full spectrum of Jewish affiliation,' says Rabbi Zacks. 'I learned to befriend, love and respect all people for who they are.'
Whether on the soccer field, at the Sunday farmers market, in synagogue, or just around town, he truly enjoys making new friends here in the Palisades.
This month, as head of the adult education department, Zacks is teaching a crash course in reading Hebrew. On February 6 he begins the winter Jewish Learning Institute course, 'Beyond Belief: Reflections on Jewish Faith.'
'It is a great pleasure to teach in the Palisades,' Zacks says. 'I find that people here are bright and very insightful and from so many diverse backgrounds!'
The rabbi teaches the Talmud on Sunday mornings following a lox and bagels breakfast at the Chabad. He also lectures on contemporary issues.
Moriel Zacks was born and raised in the Palisades by her parents, Shimon Waysman, O.B.M., and Dr. Dalia Goldfarb-Hecht. She attended Bais Channah in Los Angeles, finished her high school education in New Haven, Connecticut, and continued her higher education in Israel.
After their marriage, the Zackses settled in New York, where Moriel worked with children with special needs and teenage volunteers in a program called The Friendship Circle. After seeing how successfully the program worked within several communities, Moriel is eager to implement and direct the same outreach program at Chabad in the Palisades.
'The Friendship Circle is enjoying great success in many communities worldwide,' Moriel says. 'The aim is to bring smiles and friendship to children with special needs, and peace of mind to their parents. The program also fosters the values of volunteerism and compassion among youth.'
Rabbi Zushe Cunin is director of Chabad in the Palisades. For more information, visit www.chabadpalisades.org or write to info@chabadpalisades.org.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Friendship Circle welcomes new director
The Friendship Circle of the Conejo Valley has announced the appointment of Rabbi Eli Laber of Chicago, Ill., as its new full-time director. Laber's wife, Rochel (nee Bryski), will assist in program development for the children and teenage volunteers.
Laber and his wife have served as teachers and directors of major school and summer programs in California, Texas and New York. The couple is expected to move to the area in mid-August.
The Friendship Circle, founded in 2002, is a program that pairs children that have special needs with teenagers for social and recreational activities under the guidance of qualified counselors and staff members. Nearly 200 children are visited by teenage volunteers and participate in special activities on a weekly basis.
"The need for the Friendship Circle to engage a strong, capable, dynamic, fulltime, longterm leader and director to bring the program to a new level has been apparent for quite some time" said Rabbi Yisroel Levine of the Friendship Circle. "Given their respective and complementary talents, Eli and Rochel seem to offer just the right people for the right job at the right time."
In addition to strengthening the Friendship Circle's existing programs, Laber will focus on drawing in more teenage volunteers, introducing new programs for the children and their families, broadening fundraising efforts and creating a stronger program infrastructure.
As a member of the rabbinical staff of Chabad of the Conejo, he will also offer spiritual guidance to the families and teens involved with the program and introduce new programming, including Shabbat services and bar/bat mitzvah preparations for program families.
Laber and his wife have served as teachers and directors of major school and summer programs in California, Texas and New York. The couple is expected to move to the area in mid-August.
The Friendship Circle, founded in 2002, is a program that pairs children that have special needs with teenagers for social and recreational activities under the guidance of qualified counselors and staff members. Nearly 200 children are visited by teenage volunteers and participate in special activities on a weekly basis.
"The need for the Friendship Circle to engage a strong, capable, dynamic, fulltime, longterm leader and director to bring the program to a new level has been apparent for quite some time" said Rabbi Yisroel Levine of the Friendship Circle. "Given their respective and complementary talents, Eli and Rochel seem to offer just the right people for the right job at the right time."
In addition to strengthening the Friendship Circle's existing programs, Laber will focus on drawing in more teenage volunteers, introducing new programs for the children and their families, broadening fundraising efforts and creating a stronger program infrastructure.
As a member of the rabbinical staff of Chabad of the Conejo, he will also offer spiritual guidance to the families and teens involved with the program and introduce new programming, including Shabbat services and bar/bat mitzvah preparations for program families.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Program provides fun, friendship for kids in need
MERLE ENGLISH
August 5, 2007
On Monday afternoons when her school day ends, playtime begins for teenager Nicole Yehezkel, but it's playtime with a purpose.Nicole, 15, walks 10 blocks from her home in Floral Park to the home of Betsy and David Mandel. There, looking out the window, Nicole's playmate, Emma Mandel, 11, smiles when she sees Nicole approaching.Emma has Down syndrome. She is excited, because Nicole is coming to play with her for the next hour.Emma has two brothers: Chaim, 14, and Eli, 6, but Betsy Mandel, Emma's mom, said Emma looks forward to seeing Nicole."It's sort of like a big sister," Betsy Mandel said. "They play games, read books, play in the backyard, play with dolls, the sort of things Emma loves to do."Nicole and Emma were brought together through The Friendship Circle, an international program of the Chabad Lubavitch Movement headquartered in Brooklyn, which matches Jewish students with children with autism, multiple sclerosis, vision loss, developmental delays and other conditions. The students volunteer to be friends for the children."It came about because there were many special needs children in the Jewish community and the community at large that were being left out of the loop socially," said Chanie Zalmanov, of Hollis Hills, who founded the Friendship Circle's Queens Chapter."A lot of the children have therapists coming to their home, but they didn't have friendships," Zalmanov said."Some parents are able to get as much help as they need," she continued. "For others, it was the need for respite. But more than that, it was the need for the child to connect emotionally and to have a friend come and play. That is something that was lacking in the life of special needs children."The organization screens the volunteers, who once a week, visit children 4-months-old to 14-years-old. "They need to be emotionally stable and strong and doing basically well in school so that their parents feel they can spare the time," Zalmanov said of the volunteers."For some, it's the first time they're being exposed to someone who's needy," she continued. "A lot can do things [volunteer work] that are not interactive, like painting the park. This is very interpersonal. This gives them the feeling, 'I did a good deed with my time today.'"The organizers visit the children's home to evaluate the family's needs so an appropriate match can be made with the volunteers, who are recruited through junior high and high schools, clubs, and B'nai B'rith youth organizations. To give parents respite, volunteers also accompany their playmates to workshops and Jewish holiday events.Nicole enjoys her role. Emma is her second playmate."I love it. We're having fun," said Nicole. "My parents love it, and my little sister, Emily, 11, wants to do it."Orit Levi, a private school teacher of Kew Gardens Hills, and mother of three, has a daughter, Aviya, almost 6, in the program."She gets two girls who come every Tuesday and play with her," Levi said. "It's a relief for me. I can cook or do work with the other two kids. I think it's a wonderful program."
August 5, 2007
On Monday afternoons when her school day ends, playtime begins for teenager Nicole Yehezkel, but it's playtime with a purpose.Nicole, 15, walks 10 blocks from her home in Floral Park to the home of Betsy and David Mandel. There, looking out the window, Nicole's playmate, Emma Mandel, 11, smiles when she sees Nicole approaching.Emma has Down syndrome. She is excited, because Nicole is coming to play with her for the next hour.Emma has two brothers: Chaim, 14, and Eli, 6, but Betsy Mandel, Emma's mom, said Emma looks forward to seeing Nicole."It's sort of like a big sister," Betsy Mandel said. "They play games, read books, play in the backyard, play with dolls, the sort of things Emma loves to do."Nicole and Emma were brought together through The Friendship Circle, an international program of the Chabad Lubavitch Movement headquartered in Brooklyn, which matches Jewish students with children with autism, multiple sclerosis, vision loss, developmental delays and other conditions. The students volunteer to be friends for the children."It came about because there were many special needs children in the Jewish community and the community at large that were being left out of the loop socially," said Chanie Zalmanov, of Hollis Hills, who founded the Friendship Circle's Queens Chapter."A lot of the children have therapists coming to their home, but they didn't have friendships," Zalmanov said."Some parents are able to get as much help as they need," she continued. "For others, it was the need for respite. But more than that, it was the need for the child to connect emotionally and to have a friend come and play. That is something that was lacking in the life of special needs children."The organization screens the volunteers, who once a week, visit children 4-months-old to 14-years-old. "They need to be emotionally stable and strong and doing basically well in school so that their parents feel they can spare the time," Zalmanov said of the volunteers."For some, it's the first time they're being exposed to someone who's needy," she continued. "A lot can do things [volunteer work] that are not interactive, like painting the park. This is very interpersonal. This gives them the feeling, 'I did a good deed with my time today.'"The organizers visit the children's home to evaluate the family's needs so an appropriate match can be made with the volunteers, who are recruited through junior high and high schools, clubs, and B'nai B'rith youth organizations. To give parents respite, volunteers also accompany their playmates to workshops and Jewish holiday events.Nicole enjoys her role. Emma is her second playmate."I love it. We're having fun," said Nicole. "My parents love it, and my little sister, Emily, 11, wants to do it."Orit Levi, a private school teacher of Kew Gardens Hills, and mother of three, has a daughter, Aviya, almost 6, in the program."She gets two girls who come every Tuesday and play with her," Levi said. "It's a relief for me. I can cook or do work with the other two kids. I think it's a wonderful program."
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