leting The Circle

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The future Friendship
Circle Ferber-Kaufman
Life Town Center

Friendship Circle plans call for construction of
an all-inclusive facility for children with special needs.

SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN

Staff Writer

T

o those who think dreams
are money, vacations and
power, Shari Kaufman
offers a defiant correction:
"A dream can be as simple as an out-
stretched hand, a caring smile, a
friend and a safe place to go to feel
good."
With deep-felt determination,
Kaufman and other supporters of
the Friendship Circle are about to
turn their dream into a 20,000-
square-foot, multi-staffed reality —

Related editorial: page 37

11/24

2000

10

a learning and therapy center dedi-
cated to the care and nurturing of
metro Detroit's children with special
needs.
"People look at children with spe-
cial needs and say, look at what
they can't do,"' says Kaufman. "We
look, and say: 'Look at what these
beautiful children can do and how
much they are able to share, and
how much they change who we are
by who they are.'"
Five years ago, Rabbi Levi and
Bassie Shemtov of West Bloomfield
began the Friendship Circle as a
shoestring program to match teen
volunteers with children having spe-
cial needs.

The number of lives affected by _
the one-on-one sessions in individ-
ual homes and weekly programming
has exceeded what the Shemtovs ever
envisioned. Now, more than 300
young volunteers have established
ongoing relationships with children
involved in the Friendship Circle.
"There is a real need for a central
location that can serve as a commu-
nity center for children with special
needs and their families," Rabbi
Shemtov says. The new facility will
be "a place where the children feel
wanted and loved while their parents
relax — where they will be able to
feel as comfortable as they do in
their own back yards."