Jennie Blumenfeld, Thoughts from a Circle of Friends Volunteer

Hi, my name is Jennie Blumenfeld and I am a sophomore at Staples High School. Since seventh grade, I have been an active participant in Circle of Friends, a group dedicated to helping children with varying degrees of special needs. In seventh and eighth grade, I went to monthly Sunday circle meetings and played with a lot of kids. Although some of the kids had disabilities, I learnt to see past it and have a great time. I always looked forward to Sunday circle because I was able to have fun with friends while also having a positive impact on someone. For these kids, this is the highlight of their week. As I entered high school, my responsibility as a volunteer expanded. During ninth grade, once a week, I joined my sister Katie to visit a special friend. This special friend is over 30 years old, however, has trouble with tasks that would seem simple to a young child; such as, coloring in the lines or blowing bubbles. This can be a challenge and also a harsh reality for us. Although she struggled with these simple tasks, we worked through her challenges together. This year, my sister left for college and my friend Caroline has joined me every Wednesday in visiting our friend. Although our friend still struggles with certain things, we try our hardest to help her accomplish them. I love so much being able to see how happy we make her. It is just an hour out of my week where I get to color and play games, but for her, it is the highlight of her week. She gets to spend time with two great friends. We have created a bond like no other. Circle of Friends has allowed me and many other kids to experience something unique: A friendship with people you never thought you would be friends with. Through my time with circle of friends, I have learned how important it is to be patient, persistent, and more aware of those around me. I am so glad I have had the opportunity to spend four great years with Circle of friends. For me, the rewards are endless. It is a great program that everyone should get involved in! Thank you!

Address Delivered by Andrew & Perri Cohen, Senior High School Fellowship Awardees, Evening of Recognition Dinner May 5, 2013

Perri: To be completely honest, Andrew and I first got involved in this organization as a way to fulfill our community service requirement in order to become bar and bat-mitzvah at our synagogue. And like all 12 and 13 year olds forced into community service...we weren’t too keen on doing it...at this point we were only doing Sunday Circle for two hours every month. Andrew: After we satisfied our hours requirement, our mom signed us up to work with a boy with autism on a weekly basis, she told us his name was Robert. Again, initially it felt like a job more than anything else. At the time, as much as we were not that eager to be going over to Robert’s house to do community service with him, he didn’t seem like he wanted us there either. For the first couple of times, he cried, he’d throw tantrums and try and hide himself in his room just so that Perri and I wouldn’t come back...either that or he really didn’t like playing Chutes and Ladders...Regardless, Perri and I stuck with it. For Perri, I think it was because she knew it was a good thing to be doing. And for me, I was too lazy to tell my mom I didn’t want to be going anymore... Well, it’s five years later and Perri and I still go every week to see Robert, and Perri goes more than that to babysit him when Linda needs her. At some point in the five years we’ve been playing with Robert, my relationship with him transitioned from a “job” to me considering him a close friend. I think the first time I realized this was a couple years ago when I was exhausted and didn’t go one day. Robert called me from Perri’s phone and woke me up and said, “I miss you Andrew, can you come play with me, now?” And I see some of you making “oh that’s so cute” faces, but trust me, after that phone call, I didn’t feel good about myself...I felt like I had let down Robert, that I had let down a friend...it was a really terrible feeling, so bad actually that I think since then I’ve only missed going to his house one or two times. But that’s when I realized that I really cared about Robert and that I had a responsibility to him as a good friend to be there for him. It’s funny, I sat down to write this and I was thinking about how long Perri and I have been friends with Robert...I’ve been friends with him for longer than I’ve been friends with 80% of the people I consider my best friends who are my age...I mean Robert has asked me...multiple times, I might add, if I could be his brother, if I could legally change my name to Andrew Bolton. I think this really exemplifies what this program does and what it stands for. It’s a program that is just as much about the “volunteers” (for lack of a better word) as it is about the friends who the “volunteers” work with. It’s a program that creates special friendships--meaningful friendships that don’t dwindle with time because the impact we have made on each other is too dramatic to forget.

Talk given by Eric Benninghoff, Evening of Recognition Dinner May 5, 2013

Hello everyone. My name is Eric Benninghoff and I am a freshman at Weston High School. My brother, Brian has been a part of the Circle of Friends program for over 5 years now. Brian has a pretty tough case of Autism and can’t communicate easily. I can only imagine it is very frustrating to not be able to tell people your emotions, thoughts, and needs. It can be arduous having a member of your family having special needs. Over the years, our family has discovered fun things for all of us to do, including hiking, swimming, and my brother’s favorite: eating. Yet there are still stresses among my parents and I some days because of the needs my brother has. It is very hard for us to see my brother in pain and not know why. Thankfully, we have found relief in the Circle of Friends Program. The work that the adults and teenagers put in to this volunteer program is truly fantastic both at the temple and at home. The Circle of Friends has helped my family come closer together and have even more fun. It gives both my parents and I and my brother the opportunity to do activities we might not ordinarily do. We cannot take Brian to some places such as nice restaurants, movies, or shows much of the time. But now my parents and I can go have a nice brunch or see a movie before we pick Brian up at 4 on Sundays. When his special friends come to our house, my parents and I have a chance to play some baseball or tennis. The Circle of Friends does not just relive some of our stress; it relieves some of my brother’s too. It gives him a chance to spend time with some new friends, interact with others, and try new activities like cooking, playing music, doing art and crafts, and much more. And when his friends come to him at home, he has the chance to do some of his favorite things in his most comfortable environment. It is a great feeling to see Brian smile when we pick him up from the temple or see him at home with a friend. Knowing that Brian is happy makes the rest of us happy too. The Circle of Friends boosts our mood and calms us all down. This allows us to create a stronger family bond and do more activities with all 4 of us. I personally thank everyone who has volunteered their time to this fantastic program as you have really left an important mark on my brother and entire family in a meaningful way! I ask all of you to help support the Circle of Friends so they can continue to do the great work they have been doing for a long time!