Friendship Circle 
Special Needs Scavenger Hunt on the streets of Manhatten (click to enlarge)[/caption]
The first activity was a scavenger hunt in Manhattan. The around 45 volunteers were split into completely random groups and sent to the streets with a mission. A mission to spread awareness. On the scavenger hunt we asked strangers if they have ever been associated with anyone with special needs, what they think of the word “retarded” (typing it even makes me cringe..) and if they could think of one word to describe how they feel when they see a special needs child. The answers the volunteers received surprised all of us. The range of answers went from, “Reflective”, to, “Pitiful”. Although some of these answers were not to our satisfaction, it was it was interesting to see all of the different perceptions people have of children with special needs.
After informing tons of New Yorkers about the Friendship Circle, all the volunteers went to eat lunch. At lunch, in addition to having tasty New York style pizza, we had the chance to listen to experts who knew how our volunteering will help us with our careers in the future. That’s always a good thing to hear!
When we got back to Crown Heights for Shabbos, it was time to eat again! We had appetizers, soup, salad, chicken… Using the word stuffed cannot even begin to cover the amount of food that was in my stomach!
After our amazing meal, we were challenged to take two sides of a debate regarding a child with Special Needs. The topic was: Children with Autism should not be able to speak in public on their own, they should be represented by someone without special needs. I was assigned to the con side: Children with special needs should be able to represent themselves. I was put in the front lines to debate with the opposing team, and although there were no winners, I learned so much about the different opinions. Once everyone learned all the sides of the topic, it was time for bed.
The next morning I was woken up at 11:45. I was the last one awake in a room full of around 45 girls! You could say I was tired. After I was dressed and ready to go, I walked and talked to other volunteers about their experiences with the Friendship Circle. It is so amazing how much these girls love their buddies! They could not stop talking about them! Almost every girl I spoke to talked about how Friendship Circle affected them, and how thankful they are for their time with their Special Friends. It was so inspiring!
[caption id="attachment_2671" align="alignleft" width="240"]
Friendship Circle Volunteers pose in front of the Jewish Children's Museum (Click to enlarge)[/caption]
Once we got to the Jewish Childrens museum we ate lunch and were spoken to by two women. One spoke about her brother who has special needs, and how her mother brought Friendship Circle to Crown Heights. The other woman gave the volunteers different ideas on how to prioritize your time while with your buddy, and how to help your child feel comfortable. Once we asked the speakers all of our questions, we had free time. During the free time all the volunteers we played games and just learned more about each other.
After our break participants of the Crown Heights Friendship Circle were waiting for us to help them put on a talent show! Bri, Jenna and I were paired up with the most adorable little girl, Mimi. Mimi is six years old, and was wearing the cutest pigtails I think I have ever seen. She started off shy, but after only a few minutes with the three of us, she came out of her cute, little shell! She laughed with us, asked us questions and told us what she wanted to do for her talent. She either wanted to sing, Barbie Girl by Aqua, or Nobody’s Perfect, by Hannah Montana. Luckily, Bri, Jenna and myself know the words to all these songs by heart so it was very easy to do what she wanted. When it was our turn on the stage, we sang Barbie Girl and played the handclap, “Tic Tac Toe give me an X give an O….”. After Mimi won, “Applesauce”, all the buddies, coordinators and volunteers clapped and whooped so loudly, that her smile almost didn’t fit on her tiny face! When she left, we promised to keep in touch and talked for about twenty minutes just about how cute she was!
Time for dinner! (I am pretty sure they fed us every two hours. No one was EVER deprived of food.) Once we ate more than most people eat in an entire week, we were spoken to by a representative from DoSomething.org. He told us about the website, how it started and how he applauds us for what we do. I cannot tell a lie, a volunteer likes to be appreciated every once in a while!
Later that night, many of the volunteers sat down to watch the movie Temple Grandin. It is an amazing movie about a girl who conquers her autism, and proves that even with a disability, she can make a huge contribution to the world. It was incredible and I am pretty sure I cried three times.
[caption id="attachment_2673" align="alignleft" width="240"]
Going for a breakfast Cruise (Click to enlarge)[/caption]
The next day all the volunteers woke up at 7:45 so they could go on a breakfast cruise. (Sorry Bri, not to the Bahamas!) While eating our bagels and shmear, we elected the Friendship Circle International Board. All of the girls who ran had amazing speeches and are all amazing volunteers, but only four were chosen. I am one of the those who ran, and I am so grateful that I am one of the four who were elected. Friendship Circle means so much to me. Not only do I give my time to the friendship circle, the Friendship Circle has given so much to me. I have learned to become a nonjudgmental, patient and caring person, and I promise to do the best I can in my time as Midwest Region International President.
My trip to the Friendship Circle International Volunteer Convention
Frey Gothelf is a dedicated Friendship Circle Volunteer and a junior at Frankel Jewish Academy. She recently attended the 5th annual Friendship Circle Volunteer Conference in New York and shares some of the highlights For the weekend of March 4th through 6th, I decided, along with two other amazing Friendship Circle volunteers, to go to New York for what soon became one of the most amazing and life changing weekends of my life. After the airport handyman fixed the airplane lavatory (Thank goodness.) the plane took off, and at 10:07 a.m. we landed in LaGuardia airport!! Because we arrived later than expected, we missed the ice breaker part of the convention, but that definitely did not stop us from feeling comfortable around all our fellow volunteers! Walking into the Jewish Children’s Museum in Crown Height, Brooklyn, we were greeted with smiles! And sweatshirts. And donuts. Instantly, we knew we were going to have a good time! [caption id="attachment_2676" align="alignleft" width="240"]
Special Needs Scavenger Hunt on the streets of Manhatten (click to enlarge)[/caption]
The first activity was a scavenger hunt in Manhattan. The around 45 volunteers were split into completely random groups and sent to the streets with a mission. A mission to spread awareness. On the scavenger hunt we asked strangers if they have ever been associated with anyone with special needs, what they think of the word “retarded” (typing it even makes me cringe..) and if they could think of one word to describe how they feel when they see a special needs child. The answers the volunteers received surprised all of us. The range of answers went from, “Reflective”, to, “Pitiful”. Although some of these answers were not to our satisfaction, it was it was interesting to see all of the different perceptions people have of children with special needs.
After informing tons of New Yorkers about the Friendship Circle, all the volunteers went to eat lunch. At lunch, in addition to having tasty New York style pizza, we had the chance to listen to experts who knew how our volunteering will help us with our careers in the future. That’s always a good thing to hear!
When we got back to Crown Heights for Shabbos, it was time to eat again! We had appetizers, soup, salad, chicken… Using the word stuffed cannot even begin to cover the amount of food that was in my stomach!
After our amazing meal, we were challenged to take two sides of a debate regarding a child with Special Needs. The topic was: Children with Autism should not be able to speak in public on their own, they should be represented by someone without special needs. I was assigned to the con side: Children with special needs should be able to represent themselves. I was put in the front lines to debate with the opposing team, and although there were no winners, I learned so much about the different opinions. Once everyone learned all the sides of the topic, it was time for bed.
The next morning I was woken up at 11:45. I was the last one awake in a room full of around 45 girls! You could say I was tired. After I was dressed and ready to go, I walked and talked to other volunteers about their experiences with the Friendship Circle. It is so amazing how much these girls love their buddies! They could not stop talking about them! Almost every girl I spoke to talked about how Friendship Circle affected them, and how thankful they are for their time with their Special Friends. It was so inspiring!
[caption id="attachment_2671" align="alignleft" width="240"]
Friendship Circle Volunteers pose in front of the Jewish Children's Museum (Click to enlarge)[/caption]
Once we got to the Jewish Childrens museum we ate lunch and were spoken to by two women. One spoke about her brother who has special needs, and how her mother brought Friendship Circle to Crown Heights. The other woman gave the volunteers different ideas on how to prioritize your time while with your buddy, and how to help your child feel comfortable. Once we asked the speakers all of our questions, we had free time. During the free time all the volunteers we played games and just learned more about each other.
After our break participants of the Crown Heights Friendship Circle were waiting for us to help them put on a talent show! Bri, Jenna and I were paired up with the most adorable little girl, Mimi. Mimi is six years old, and was wearing the cutest pigtails I think I have ever seen. She started off shy, but after only a few minutes with the three of us, she came out of her cute, little shell! She laughed with us, asked us questions and told us what she wanted to do for her talent. She either wanted to sing, Barbie Girl by Aqua, or Nobody’s Perfect, by Hannah Montana. Luckily, Bri, Jenna and myself know the words to all these songs by heart so it was very easy to do what she wanted. When it was our turn on the stage, we sang Barbie Girl and played the handclap, “Tic Tac Toe give me an X give an O….”. After Mimi won, “Applesauce”, all the buddies, coordinators and volunteers clapped and whooped so loudly, that her smile almost didn’t fit on her tiny face! When she left, we promised to keep in touch and talked for about twenty minutes just about how cute she was!
Time for dinner! (I am pretty sure they fed us every two hours. No one was EVER deprived of food.) Once we ate more than most people eat in an entire week, we were spoken to by a representative from DoSomething.org. He told us about the website, how it started and how he applauds us for what we do. I cannot tell a lie, a volunteer likes to be appreciated every once in a while!
Later that night, many of the volunteers sat down to watch the movie Temple Grandin. It is an amazing movie about a girl who conquers her autism, and proves that even with a disability, she can make a huge contribution to the world. It was incredible and I am pretty sure I cried three times.
[caption id="attachment_2673" align="alignleft" width="240"]
Going for a breakfast Cruise (Click to enlarge)[/caption]
The next day all the volunteers woke up at 7:45 so they could go on a breakfast cruise. (Sorry Bri, not to the Bahamas!) While eating our bagels and shmear, we elected the Friendship Circle International Board. All of the girls who ran had amazing speeches and are all amazing volunteers, but only four were chosen. I am one of the those who ran, and I am so grateful that I am one of the four who were elected. Friendship Circle means so much to me. Not only do I give my time to the friendship circle, the Friendship Circle has given so much to me. I have learned to become a nonjudgmental, patient and caring person, and I promise to do the best I can in my time as Midwest Region International President. 
