” title=”Friendship Circle”>Friendship Circle‘s mission is to bring those families back into the circle by pairing their children with teenage volunteers who are taught to acknowledge their friends’ place in society and make them feel part of the community. We provide the individuals with tools to enter society confidently, by teaching them social and life skills within our unique facility. We also provide the community with the tools to welcome these individuals, through education and training. The lives of everyone involved are enriched by experiencing the beauty of friendship, advocacy and selfless giving.
The Plan
Friendship Circle’s Ferber Kaufman LifeTown is a 23,000 sq. ft. building with an activity wing housing eight therapy rooms and a unique 5,000 sq. ft. true-to-life indoor city – Weinberg Village, which operates at capacity every day. Its eight storefronts include a bank, medical office, library, drugstore, theater, and beauty salon. With this grant, we will expand the Village, doubling its facilities and the number of people it serves. The addition will include a copy center and pizza parlor to provide valuable occupational training for adults with disabilities.
We will hire professional educators to train our 800 volunteers to become Ambassadors of Friendship, advocating for respect, inclusion and friendship for all people with special needs. Modeled after our innovative program, there are over 70 Friendship Circles with 11,000 volunteers nationwide. We will share this training with these other organizations to create a global network of advocates for individuals with special needs.
The Outcome
Inside Weinberg Village, individuals with special needs learn essential life skills such as using crosswalks, banking, tipping service people, and more. In time, they gain confidence to transition these skills into their real life communities.
Our proposed expansion of Weinberg Village will result in a waterfall of change for Friendship Circle. Currently, with the help of over 800 volunteers, we serve 2,500 individuals with special needs from 155 different schools. The new expansion will allow us to serve more than 5,000 students annually and add over 500 volunteers. In addition, adults with special needs will be able to utilize the Village for vocational functions such as job application, interviewing and workforce training.
Friendship Circle’s Ambassadors of Friendship will help spread the message of inclusion, respect and friendship in our society, creating a new social norm founded on acceptance and social responsibility.
|