For over 20 years, the Friendship Circle of Cleveland has worked to bring together individuals of all abilities.

Friendship Circle is an international Jewish organization that aims to develop friendships and foster connections for those with special needs. Since 1994, the organization has established over 80 branches around the world.

Teen volunteers, referred to as ‘friendmakers,’ work one-on-one with with special needs individuals to help develop social and friendship skills. The volunteers are a big part of what makes the program successful. 

“Our teen program is focused on creating [friendships] and social interaction for our participants who may not be comfortable in social settings, find it difficult to make friends, or simply enjoy the social interaction,” Teen Volunteer Coordinator Shevy Rabin wrote in an email.

Teen Scene is one of the programs which volunteers participate in. 

On Sundays, teen volunteers spend time with individuals, sometimes going to a nearby park or playing in Friendship Circle’s gym at their Pepper Pike location.

Sophomore Alma Saltzman, who volunteers as a friendmaker, has seen individuals with special needs benefit from participation in Friendship Circle.

“[Friendship Circle] has a significant impact because there are people in the community with disabilities who [may] feel like they don’t belong,” Saltzman said.

“Friendship Circle gives [ participants] a community of not only people who accept them, [but people who want to] go out of their way to be with them and make a friendship,” she added.

Junior Asher Gearity, who also volunteers as a friendmaker, believes Friendship Circle also has a lasting impact on its teen staff.

“[Friendship Circle] definitely helps the volunteers gain experience for later in life. It helps [us] learn how to interact with people who aren’t exactly like [us],” Gearity said.

The mother of a Friendship Circle client, who chose to remain anonymous, reflected on the impact the program has had on her son.

“The acceptance and the effort Friendship Circle makes to make these individuals feel valuable and loved are so evident,” she wrote in an email. “We couldn’t thank Friendship Circle enough for what they do for the families and the communities. They truly carry out their mission to make friendship possible for these wonderful individuals.”

She believes the teen volunteers have left a positive impact on her son.

“To pair him up with someone who wants to spend time with him and cares for him is something difficult to find on [our] own,” she wrote. “The teen volunteers he has had in the past all have made [a] great impact in his life.”

The Friendship Circle staff recognizes how much of an impact the volunteers have on the special needs community.

“I believe that our teen volunteers are the glue that keeps our community together,” Rabin said.

“They create a warm and comfortable environment, [assisting] those who need support, and ultimately have a lasting impact that our participants hold onto for the rest of their lives,” she added.

Teen volunteers also helped at Friendship Circle’s 15th annual fundraiser, MyWalk4Friends, on Sunday, Sept. 22.

The goal of the fundraiser was to spread awareness and raise funds for Friendship Circle.

The volunteers ran stations along the 2-mile walking course in Pepper Pike. Stations such as face painting, a scavenger hunt and an interactive mural help encourage walkers and give them a break.

“The teens were the familiar faces along the route encouraging the kids and adults,” Rabin wrote.

The event helped raise a record of over $626 thousand for Friendship Circle.

Friendship Circle provides a great opportunity to further social skills and make new friends.

“Everyone should do it,” Gearity said. “[Even] if you’ve never done anything like it, I think it’s a good thing to experience. It’s fun.”