Friendship Circle

Volunteers at work

Friendship Circle is an amazing place. From the purple sand in the tactile room to the cheese pit here, the first time I visited, I knew my kids would never tire of playing here...and they don't.  What I didn't know is that the people here would be even more alluring than the toys and the ball pit and the art materials.  The people of Friendship Circle are what makes this a magical place.  Spend just a small amount of time here and you'll see right away that the staff of Friendship Circle and the adult volunteers are amazing, unique, vital parts of Friendship Circle.  But the teen volunteers?  It is you, the teen volunteers, who bring the magic.  The adults may set the stage...but it's each of you teen volunteers who pull real furry long-eared bunnies out of hats again and again. To all of you teen volunteers--you probably know that you make a difference in our children's lives.  You probably know that your time here is spent doing good.  But, really, I don't think you know how profoundly your relationship with our children changes their lives or how grateful we parents are.  One day, far far in the future, when you are a parent yourself, you will remember me saying this to you: You heal our hearts.  I'll say it again: You heal our hearts.  And then you'll understand. Elizabeth Stone said that becoming a parent "is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”  Think about that for a minute.  Your heart...walking around...outside your body..sometimes not even in the same room as you are!  Sometimes, it's across town.  No ribs to protect it..granted, I'm not a doctor, but as far as I can tell, that is the purpose of your ribcage---to protect your heart.  We're talking about your heart, the most essential organ in your body.  And suddenly, off it goes, waving goodbye to you and carrying it's lunch.  All parents know what this feels like. It's terrifying. What if your heart falls down a flight of stairs?  What if your heart gets lost?  What if someone hurts your heart?  It's just plain scary to think of your heart out there making its way in the world. But for parents with a child  whose brain or body is different, it can feel like our hearts with different needs are out there outside our body trying to find their way blindfolded.   It can feel like our sweet amazing vibrant hearts are out there on their own with big "kick me" signs taped onto them.  Whether our child's differences are visible or invisible, physical,  cognitive or emotional, severe or less so, we fear that our child with extraordinary needs is an even more vulnerable heart walking outside our body---a heart with a hole in it, a heart that perhaps can't run as fast as the other hearts, or a heart that can't speak it's needs. Scariest of all, we worry that our heart with extraordinary needs may face all of this alone.  Without friends.  Without community.  Without other hearts standing beside it. Most of you teen volunteers here work with one of our vulnerable little hearts with extraordinary needs.  I am the proud mom of one such amazing little heart. And some of you work with the siblings of a child with extraordinary needs.  In the language of special needs we sometimes refer to these hearts as 'neuro-typical'.  But they're not typical.  They are members of unique families.  Some have siblings who cannot speak to them, or cannot look at them.  Some have siblings who scream in restaurants or movie theaters.  Some have siblings who may be older than they are but need their help getting dressed or making sense of the world.  These little hearts, these siblings of our children with extraordinary needs, are asked to become extraordinary themselves and in doing so, they have different needs than other kids their age.   I am the proud mom of two such unique little hearts. So volunteers, whether your buddy is a child with extraordinary needs or one of their sibs, your buddy is a young open heart making its way through the world outside its rib cage, with poorly marked road signs, and the possibility of vampires around every bend.  And you have offered them a rib. You have helped clear the brush to read the signs.  You have assured them that vampires are the stuff of movies.You have made our hearts healthier and stronger.  You have brought them joy and laughter when you play together at Buddies at Lifetown, Torah Circle, Karate, Dance or in our homes.  And if that were all you do, I would tell you it is certainly more than enough.  But it's not all you do.  In creating a relationship that deepens and develops over time you become a bright colored thread woven into the tapestry of their lives.  What you build  becomes a friendship.  And this friendship is powerful. Your friendship builds our children's confidence, nurtures their spirits and helps them grow strong.  You help them become the strongest hearts they can be.   You help them heal.  You heal our hearts. And we, who love our hearts more than words can express, cannot thank you enough. To the parents of the volunteers, I know that many of your kids here are honor students, athletes, musicians, artists and have lists of accomplishments for which you are certainly proud.  But what they're being recognized for tonight is, in my oh-so-humble opinion, more important than any of that.  They are being recognized for changing lives.  They are being recognized for loving and leading and for truly imprinting the world, one heart at a time. Parents of volunteers, thank you for raising your children to be the compassionate, caring, giving young people they are.  And thank you for letting them become part of our family's lives. To the teen volunteers, on behalf of all of the parents of children here at Friendship Circle, I want to thank each of you for the joy and healing you've brought to our hearts. You're not only the leaders of tomorrow...you are already leaders today This post was taken from a speech given by a Friendship Circle parent at the annual evening of recognition honoring volunteers.