Chabad honors teen volunteers

The Friendship Circle will be honoring teenage volunteers at a special Volunteer Appreciation Dinner at 6 p.m. Sun., May 22 at the Hyatt Westlake Plaza, Westlake Village.

The Friendship Circle, affiliated with Chabad, reaches out to families with children of special needs. They offer programs tailored for the child, the parents and the siblings. With the exception of a winter camp, all other activities are free of charge.

Each week, area teenagers visit their "adopted" friend, a child with special needs. They read stories, play games or create craft projects together. Twice a month, they meet at Elite Fitness Center in Thousand Oaks, where they have exclusive use of the facility. Mike Davis, owner of Elite Fitness, and his staff make their facility available for the Friendship Circle.

The Friendship Circle also organizes fairs where children and their teen volunteers come together for a day of fun, activities, rides and science demonstrations. Monthly SibShops afford brothers and sisters of children with special needs a chance to get together for supper, activities and a chance to speak with a professional therapist about their challenges.

At the monthly Mom’s Night Out, guest speakers facilitate group discussions and participants share vital information and provide emotional support for each other.

The Volunteer Appreciation Dinner will honor the teenagers for their commitment of time, dedication and friendship. Each teen will be acknowledged and will receive a personalized memento of appreciation. The dinner will also include expressions of gratitude from families who have been impacted by the program, as well as a slide show depicting the activities of The Friendship Circle.

Chani Malamud, one of the program’s coordinators, credits the rapid expansion of the program to teens’ word-of-mouth. "They love to visit their ‘friend’ and there is a very special bond between them. We started the program with six teenagers and before we knew it there were close to 200 enrolled. It’s definitely catching on!"

"The teenagers don’t need any motivation or incentives," said Malamud. "Some teens participate because it’s a mitzvah (good deed), others because it makes them feel good and some might even be thinking ahead to a college entrance resume."

For more information on the Friendship Circle and the dinner, please call (818) 865-2233.