Among Friends Summer '21 - Philly Friendship Circle Newsletter

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SUMMER 2021

A M O N G As we enter the Jewish month of Elul and prepare to usher in the High Holidays, it is a time of personal reflection and anticipation.

And the same is happening at FC. Our amazing team is busy meeting, reviewing feedback and reflecting on all the beautiful times we shared this year….despite the challenges. We are working hard to ensure the upcoming year is FUN, meaningful and filled with lots of opportunities for friendship!

Wishing our entire community a happy, healthy and sweet New Year!

Chani & Zev Baram Co-Founders

Committed to Staying Connected As soon as things calmed down a bit and vaccines were readily available, we asked if friends felt comfortable having outdoor hangouts! We’re SO glad that these friends jumped at the chance to reconnect…

Bryce, Evan, and Jared are long-time Sunday Circle friends!

Bryce and Evan’s awesome energy and excitement can make any hangout fun, but when you add Jared’s caring personality to the equation, they really are the best trio.

Since Jared knew he was heading to Israel this summer, these friends made time to squeeze in some in-person visits before he left! Bryce and Evan’s mom Stacy says: “Jared has been a huge supportive friend for them and Bryce and Evan are always thrilled to see him. Bryce loves acting out scenes and jumping on the trampoline with Jared, as Evan loves playing basketball and bowling with him.”

Michael and Anita got to hang out a few times before Anita heads to college this fall.

These old friends reunited after a long time apart, yet they went right back into feeling comfortable with each other. Michael likes to be out and about and, like all of us, has been eager to see friends again in-person. When we first presented the idea, Michael’s dad Sherrill said, “I know he would love that!!!!!”

After their first reunion, Anita said, “I really enjoyed seeing Michael. We just walked around for about an hour and a half… he seemed to have enjoyed himself and so did I!” We’re grateful that the weather has held out for them, and that Michael and Anita’s commitment to friendship is stronger than the many challenges of this year!

Save the Date!

Philly Friendship Walk

Sunday, November 7th, 2021

Silver Lining of a Virtual World

by FC Mom Joan Wolpert Despite Riffy’s full and active pre-Covid life, the one thing that was missing was real socialization with peers. He had plenty of opportunities, but none of them enabled him to genuinely converse with his peers with special needs. We tried so many strategies, so you can imagine our surprise when Covid delivered a tool that really worked - ZOOM! Looking at the screen and rows of faces framed and discrete, gave Riffy the processing time to study each face, see their written name and get to know them through observation. But Zoom alone wasn’t the only magic ingredient... it was also Friendship Circle, of course!

Someone said check out FC Goes Virtual, so I did. Truthfully, I didn’t know where we were. Was it Cleveland, Michigan? I had no idea. All I knew, everyone else seemed to know each other and the participants were from all over the country and Canada too! There was programming all day and into the evening, and the young leadership were some of the best autism socialization experts I’ve ever witnessed!

Riffy stayed put without supervision, totally absorbed and when she called his name he promptly answered. He was so proud and so was I. Who knew? Quarantine opened doors for us through Friendship Circle.

Move aside Amazon - Here comes the FC Teen Leadership Board delivering over 1,000 packages of fun throughout the year!

2021 FC Art Show Whether virtual or in-person, it’s always more fun creating with friends!!

This year’s Art Show brought our artists and their families together virtually, to celebrate the exceptional works we created at our Sunday Circle Art Studio last year.

Featuring a variety of projects from self-portraits, doves, suncatchers, nature collages, and wall planters, we explored our theme that we all have the opportunity to be givers and receivers.

A few of our FC artists also shared their thoughts on art and the creative process. As Avi said, “We translate [through] language and the arts.” Maddie shared, “It’s so much fun to bond with our friends and work together on something and not just alone.”

During the show, we created a communal quilt together, with our artists contributing their own unique squares. Different as we may be from one another, everyone is a vital part of the pattern, and makes up the very fabric of Friendship Circle.

How did friends connect at FC this year?

17

Virtual Sundays@Home

49

Virtual Young Adult Happy Hours

8 35

5 20

Sibling Workshops Mitzvah Volunteer Program (MVP) Lessons

Virtual Holiday & Community

3

Mom’s Nights In

Teen Leadership Board Meetings

3

Alumni FC Talks

263 Smiling Faces

Support Inclusive Friendships

Inquire about endowment & naming opportunities, event sponsorship, donations of stock or security, and legacy gifts.

Lifecycle Events: In honor or memory of a loved one

Recurring Monthly Donations

Matching Gifts

*Online Shopping: Amazon Smile & Goodshop

United Way Donations (4454)

*Amazon Smile (Friendship Circle Philadelphia Region, Inc) & Goodshop (Philly Friendship Circle)

Staff: Zev Baram, Executive Director & Co-Founder Chani Baram, Co-Founder Alexa Hinds, Director of Operations Cait Gilmartin, Lead Behavioral Consultant

Shannon Conway, Office Administrator & Executive Support Leah Staub, Data Associate Amanda Thum, Outreach & Engagement Coordinator

Board of Directors: Julie Axelrod, Rebecca Cohen, Jaime Gordon, Tracy Gordon, Howard Levin, Kami Verne

Philly Friendship Circle connects teens and young adults to

youth with special needs and their families through a full range of

social offerings. Inspired by the power of genuine friendships, our youth cultivate understanding, kindness and responsibility while ensuring a caring and inclusive community.

info@phillyfriendship.com (215) 574-1765

@phillyfriendship phillyfriendship.com