FC Volunteers Kick Off Year

Only a week into the school year, close to 300 Crown Heights high school girls gathered for their annual Friendship Circle volunteer kickoff and registration.

Girls from four local high schools, Bais Rivkah, Bnos Menachem, Bnos Chomesh, and Beis Chaya Mushka joined together to volunteer for an important cause within the community, the Friendship Circle. These girls have all given of their time to befriend children and young adults with special needs by visiting them weekly in their homes.

The girls were treated with a delicious pancake bar and an informative presentation delivered by Pesach Auerbach. The presentation included topics of how having a child with special needs dramatically changes the lives of a family and how important this program is; team building games which emphasized how we all need to actively participate in our community and its children; and about how communicate with children who are not verbal or challenging to understand.

Mr. Auerbach really brought home to the girls how challenging having a diagnosis can be, and how vital their friendship and visits are.

Following the presentation, the girls were introduced to their school sub-heads and presidents by volunteer coordinator Esther Rimler. The president’s led an interactive game of Kahoot where the guidelines for Friends at Home were discussed and the girls had a chance to register for the program.

The evening concluded with Mrs. Chani Majesky thanking the volunteers and emphasizing the importance of dedication and consistency, explaining that what a FC volunteer learns and gains during this experience, is priceless and will last a lifetime.

A very big thank you to FC’s in-house party planner Mushki Tenenbaum, Volunteer Coordinator Esther Rimler and school presidents Miriam Chazan, Sara Osdoba, Sara Kugel, Lulu Feldman and Riki Rimler for making this event possible.

Special thanks to Benz’s Fish for co-sponsoring this event.

For more information about Friendship Circle you can visit fcbrooklyn.com or e-mail [email protected]

Help support this vital work by purchasing a raffle ticket and be in the drawing to win $10,000 this Chanuka. Visit www.FCBrooklyn.com/RAFFLE

Photos: Jakub Redziniak