Friendship Circle, Jewish

Top 12 Questions asked about Friendship Circle

1. What is Friendship Circle? Friendship Circle of Michigan is a not-for-profit organization located in West Bloomfield, Michigan that creates friendship in the lives of children and adults with special needs. Our unique method pairs individuals who have special needs with local teen volunteers. Together they participate in a variety of weekly programs at  the Ferber Kaufman LifeTown including Sports, dance, music, martial arts and social skills programs. Through these friendships the teens grow into socially responsible citizens and the children and adults gain confidence through community inclusion. 2. Who Founded Friendship Circle? Rabbi Levi and Bassie Shemtov founded Friendship Circle in 1994 as a program of Lubavitch Foundation of Michigan. The Shemtovs  were Inspired by the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s unconditional love for every human being and his belief that none of us is complete unless all of us are included. Starting with 8 Families and 16 volunteers Friendship Circle of Michigan has grown to include 300 families and over 800 volunteers. 3. What’s the Purple magnet all about? Driving around the streets of Metro Detroit you are bound to notice the famous purple magnet. A car that has a magnet on it tells you that the car’s owner may be a volunteer, supporter, participant, a friend of Friendship Circle or a friend of a friend of Friendship Circle. The one thing they have in common is their support for individuals with special needs. The purple magnet is a constant reminder to strive for a world of inclusion and acceptance for everyone. 4. Do you work only with children who have autism? Nope. We serve all disabilities. Whether it is cognitive, physical, social, severe or subtle; we accept all children who are in need of a social atmosphere built upon friendship and acceptance. From a child who is simply “shy” to a child with severe disabilities, all are accepted and paired with a teenage volunteer to enjoy social programming. 5. I heard you guys have some type of underground city? Yes and it’s called the Weinberg Village. Students use the village, as their temporary classroom to facilitate teaching and learning in a safe, life-like and interactive environment. With 8 store fronts, including a doctor’s office, library, pet shop and bank, the students learn necessary life skills with the help of our Adult Volunteers, who role-play the workers of these store fronts. Each adult is professionally trained on disability awareness while still encouraged to act as true to life as possible. Students learn safety skills as they walk through the Village with working traffic lights and a volunteer police officer on duty. 6. How many people partake in Friendship Circle activities? Currently Friendship Circle has 800 volunteers in the Morrie and Sybil Fenkell Volunteer Club. 400 adult volunteers work in the Weinberg Village and 400 teen volunteers participate in weekly and monthly programs.  300 families with children with special needs participate in the programs. 2,500 Students visit the Weinberg Village annually to learn life skills in the Lessons for Life Program. Students come from 165 schools and 55 school districts throughout Southeast Michigan. 7. Do you have to be Jewish to participate in programs? Though its inspiration and roots were planted in the local Jewish community, the organization was created for the benefit of All people regardless of race, religion and creed. Our volunteer club, family memberships and community of supporters are composed of people with diverse backgrounds; all working together to better the lives of children with special needs. 8. How does Friendship Circle exist financially? Friendship Circle exists because of people like you.  Friendship Circle was founded as (and still operates as) a grassroots organization. The Metro Detroit community built The Friendship Circle and continues to support 100% of its programming. We are supported by personal contributions,  foundation grants and participation in our annual Walk 4 Friendship. The Friendship Circle benefits from state and federal grants targeted towards specific programs. The Friendship Circle also charges modest fees to participants. These fees cover approximately 8% of the total budget. 9. Do you provide other services besides for special needs programming? Friendship Circle includes the Daniel B. Sobel Friendship House which provides assistance and support to individuals and families in crisis. Over 500 individuals who are struggling with isolation, addiction  and related crises receive guidance in the form of recovery programs, referrals and support networks. 10. Does Friendship Circle exist only in Michigan? No! Friendship Circle is in 80 locations around the world, including France, Israel, China, Australia and South Africa. The Friendship Circle also has an international office that provides support and resources to existing Friendship Circle and works with communities to develop new Friendship Circles. The original Friendship Circle was founded right here in Michigan and the Ferber Kaufman LifeTown is the inspirational model for the other 79 locations. 11. What is the next big project? Defeat The Label Fat. Stupid. Poor. Ugly. At some point in life, we have all experienced the emotional pain caused from social labeling. These labels create an imbalance of power and control within our schools, workplaces and communities- most often leading to bullying and the bystander effect. Defeat The Label is a social movement that works to promote an inclusive, judgment-free society, void of social labels and stereotypes; a society where all people are recognized not for their physical form, but for the superior, equal and worthy soul within. This project will be launching at the end of February. 12. If Friendship Circle received a sizable donation what would it go towards? Expanding the Weinberg Village Expanding the Weinberg Village will result in a waterfall of change for Friendship Circle as it is at the heart of our mission. With more space for life-skill training, we will be able to serve more families with special needs. By opening our doors to more families, we are helping to alleviate their heavy debt of costly, uninsured therapies. In addition to serving more families, we will open our doors to more schools who will utilize our Lessons for Life program. With the increase in families & schools with special needs, we will be able accept more volunteers from the surrounding community which will increase community awareness and advocacy.