The Friendship Circle bids farewell to 2018 on a high and grateful note! We would like to express sincere thanks to an incredible community, our group of generous matchers, our dedicated supporters (279 and counting!), and our adult volunteers. This dynamic group of people came together to not only reach but surpass our goal to raise $54K through a 36-hour campaign called Love.Live.Give. These funds will allow us to continue our efforts and create more programs for children, teens, and adults with special needs, as well as expand the opportunities for our dedicated teen volunteers.
Additionally, we recently launched our Adult Volunteer group which was a huge success! This initiative was not only instrumental in carrying out the Love.Live.Give campaign, but it’s creation will further enable us to expand our focus and grow as an organization.
Last, but certainly not least, we celebrated the final days of 2018 with a fun-filled week of Winter Camp at the end of December. The camp offers children the chance to bond with the teen volunteers who work with them one-on-one, as well as spend time with their peers. We’ve put together an action-packed week, and each day was filled with stimulating, therapeutic, and fun activities such as music, science, art, sports, trips, and indoor play. Our destinations included iPlay America, KidzTopia, Bowling at Strathmore Lanes, and Get Air Freehold.
2019 is on track to be a busy but exciting time, and we’ll be kicking it off by planning one of our biggest community events, Walk4Friends. Our hope is that this will be a year of continued growth, as well as ever-expanding outreach of community involvement, new programs with our dedicated group of adult volunteers, and, of course, bigger and better opportunities for young people, both participants and volunteers. We hope you’ll enjoy the journey with us!
Thank you for being part of our circle!
Sincerely, Chana’le Wolosow
Director
Our Circle
The People Behind the Quotes
Friendship Circle touches the lives of everyone involved. The program has the ability to shape lives, not only for our participants, ranging from children to young adults, but also our teen and adult volunteers, families, and other supporters. You’ve read about them in the #LoveLiveGive campaign, now get to know them better.
Upcoming Event
Social Circle
This program is geared for our younger division ages 5-14 years of age. Each week will be a different fun-filled trip; iPlay America, KidzTopia, Bowling at Strathmore Lanes, Get Air Freehold.
Featured News
Pay It Forward: Friendship Circle Adult Volunteer Community Emerges In Astonishing Numbers!
BEAUTIFUL, JUST BEAUTIFUL.” That’s what the Friendship Circle team said each time they read a new adult volunteer’s registration form describing why that individual chose to volunteer at Friendship Circle. What began months earlier as an idea to get a few volunteers together to help Friendship Circle with some business development projects, became the successful launch of the Friendship Circle’s Adult Volunteer program. Since the inception of FC in 2001, over 2,000 teens have volunteered to become friends with children with special needs and have graduated from FC as confident, caring community leaders.
Friendship Circle’s camp offers children a chance to build true friendships with their one-on-one teen volunteers as well as their peers. Each action-packed day was filled with stimulating, therapeutic, and fun activities such as music, science, art, sports, trips and indoor fun.
Program Update
Sunday Programs
Our Sunday programs are dedicated to providing participants with two hours of fun and engagement under the guidance of an experienced teacher and the help of our teen buddies. Some of our recent Sunday programs have included Martial Arts, Yoga, and Dance.
Recent Event
Chanukah Silent Disco
We had an amazing Chanukah Silent Disco Party that included dinner, crafts, and amenorah lighting. To ensure that everyone would be able to participate and have a great time, we made all of our glow-in-the-dark swag sensory friendly!
Proud Milestone
#LoveLiveGive Campaign – Goal Reached!
Wow, what an incredible Matching Challenge! With much gratitude, we say thank you to our matching donors for this exceptional opportunity. We also thank all of you for your friendship to those with special needs. 279 gracious supporters donated over a 36-hour period raising more than $55,000. This will help us to continue, add and grow our programs for children, teens, and adults with special needs as well as our dedicated volunteers.
Celebrations
Birthdays & Life Events
At Friendship Circle you are never just a participant, volunteer, or staff you are family! Congratulations to everyone celebrating their birthdays and other milestones this time of year!
Save The Date
Walk4Friends – Sunday, May 19th, 12 – 4pm
Walk4Friends is an annual 1 mile walk that raises crucial funds and community awareness for The Friendship Circle.
Walk4Friends begins with an inspirational opening ceremony followed by a 1 mile walk. Upon reaching the finish line, walkers will enjoy a post-walk celebration with entertainment, activities, food and much more…
Review Us
Love Friendship Circle?
Since 2001, Friendship Circle of Central Jersey works tirelessly to fulfill its mission of creating a supportive community for individuals with special needs, their families and high school volunteers, giving them the opportunity to unearth their potential, make positive life choices, and realize their dreams.
Please let us know how we are doing by leaving us a positive review on Google.
By muka groner|2019-01-14T00:45:07-05:00January 14th, 2019|Friendship Stories|Comments Off on Friendship Flash – Issue 1 – January 3, 2019
Sincerely, 
