Each match between a Jewish teen volunteer and a Jewish child or teen with a disability is made with painstaking care and attention to location, availability, interests, and sometimes gender. This is because these matches not only provide someone in need with a sense of belonging, but they pave the way to Jewish inclusion and making Judaism accessible to all. Volunteers commit to visiting their match at their home on a weekly basis during the school year, further enriching the northern Virginia Jewish community. If you’d like to sponsor a match, click here.
Sponsor a Teen Volunteer Workshop! ($500)
Friendship Circle of Northern Virginia offers two workshops for teen volunteers each school year. Each workshop consists of an educational component where teens learn about Disability Awareness and Inclusion, and an inspirational component to inspire teens to continue visiting their new friends and giving back to the community. Of course, each workshop also includes pizza, snacks, and hot chocolate, by popular demand. If you would like to sponsor a workshop, click here.
Sponsor a FriendsTogether Event! ($1,000)
FriendsTogether occurs each month/6 weeks and is where Jewish volunteers and Jewish children/teens with a disability come together and celebrate Judaism in their own way through fun activities including arts and crafts, movement, and learning Torah. Friendship Circle of Northern Virginia plans the curriculum for each of these events and creates info cards for each individual with a disability to the volunteer gets to know their unique personalities and needs before meeting them. Volunteers are also committed to arriving early to set up and staying late to clean up. FriendsTogether is also where Friendship Club begins, with young volunteers ages 8-12. If you’d like to sponsor a FriendsTogether event, click here.
Sponsor a Special Delivery! ($1500)
Every Rosh Hashana and Purim, Friendship Circle of Northern Virginia personally delivers every Friends@Home volunteer and participating family a gift basket full of sweet treats in the spirit of the holiday. Each package is individually hand-packed and delivered with a personalized letter. If you’d like to sponsor a Special Delivery, click here.
Sponsor Friendship Circle Shabbat! ($2000)
At Friendship Circle Northern Virginia’s first Friendship Circle Shabbat where all volunteers, participants, and their families were invited to a Friday night dinner at the Rabbi’s house, so many people RSVP’d that the dinner needed to be moved to Chabad of Northern Virginia! This Shabbat dinner is the culmination of a full year of friendships where everyone comes together, receives yearbooks, reminisces over the good times celebrating Jewish holidays together, and sending off the senior volunteers to their next life adventure. If you would like to sponsor a Friendship Circle Shabbat, click here.
“BFF” stands for “best friends forever”, a commonly used acronym in social media and texting among teens. If you love our mission and want to see more of us, donate here.
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