By COLlive reporter
Photos by Andrea Scrivanich and Veronica
On the first night of Chanukah, families at Friendship Circle of Brooklyn experienced a Chanukah like none other.
After receiving their customized Thank You Hashem x FCBKLN t-shirts, FC families stopped for a quick step-and-repeat photo. Then, they continued on to enjoy the delicious array of Chanukah treats: Dreidel Waffles, latkes, donuts, apple cider, and more.
The lights dimmed, and the Joey Newcomb concert began! Everyone clapped and danced to the beat of Joey’s most popular songs, including “How Aw Ya Reb Yid,” “Mi Keamcha Yisroel,” and of course, “Thank You Hashem.”
The Menorah was lit by Friendship Circle’s own FC Minyan Chazzanim – Levi Harlig and Boruch Schneur Chein. Then, the crowd sang Haneiros Halalu with a recording of “Chanukah Live.”
As the concert came to an end, the families were called to receive the gifts prepared from Friendship Circle of Brooklyn’s Chanukah Toy Drive, held in Zchus of Yissi Spiegel.
The toys were sponsored in part by Mr. Eli Weinstock and family, Mr. Marvin Feinstein, “Toys for Hospitalized Children,” and dozens of individual gift donations from generous community members.
As the beaming children left the hall, they received a unique one-dollar coin for Chanukah Gelt.
A huge thank-you to the dedicated FC team, staff, and volunteers headed by Rochel Karp, Mimi Garelik, Ruta Cohen, Sarah Hodakov, and Tzvi Gewirtz.
Thank you to all our high school volunteers and presidents. Thank you to Benz’s for the Latkes, Rabbis Sholom Goldstein and Benny Wolf of Bais Rivkah, all the schools who graciously collected toys, and countless others who contributed to and volunteered their precious time and expertise to make this all happen.
