66 W. Mount Pleasant Ave., Suite 205
Livingston, NJ 07039
Phone: 973/251-0200
Fax: 973/251-0202
Email:
Website: www.fcnj.org
Contact: Rabbi Zalman Grossbaum, Executive Director; Toba Leah Grossbaum, Director
The Friendship Circle was launched in October 2000 to identify the families of children with special needs, engage the children in a wide variety of social activities, recreation, and learning experiences, and, at the same time, provide much-needed respite to the parents.
The uniqueness of the Friendship Circle is that it matches the special-needs children with teenage volunteers. The teens befriend and mentor the children, thus meeting their own altruistic goals and fulfilling the Jewish ideals of chesed and tikun olam.
Currently, more than 600 trained teenage volunteers are paired with more than 215 families. The result is measurable: more than 2,500 friendship hours each month.
The children benefit from home visits, group recreation, winter and summer camps, and athletic programs. With their parents and siblings, they celebrate the holidays in exciting ways that that bring to life the spirit and richness of Jewish traditions.
The Friendship Circle recently expanded to include programs for special-needs teenagers in the community. Activities are specially designed around the teens’ unique social needs, and educational components are tailored to each participant’s level of Judaic knowledge and comprehension.
Additionally, the following programs are currently available: the Sunday morning Children’s Circle, Soccer Circle, Sports Night, and Parents Events.
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