Community
Teen Angels
Friendship Circle mother-daughter event
celebrates volunteers' achievements.
SUSAN TAWIL
Special to the Jewish News
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ake note of teens in orange
sweatshirts bearing the mes-
sage, "I Make a Difference,
So Can You" — they could
be angels in disguise.
They're members of the Morrie and
Sybil Fenkell Volunteer Club of the
Friendship Circle, an organization
that now provides respite care for 170
families with children with special
needs (mental and physical disabili-
ties). The 350 teen volunteers (230
girls, 120 boys) hail from public
schools and Jewish day schools
throughout Metro Detroit.
A mother-daughter evening was
held Dec. 18 at the Shul-Chabad
Lubavitch in West Bloomfield. Program
coordinator Brynie Groner, 19, says the
event was designed "to let mothers know
what their amazing daughters are doing."
Nearly 100 mothers joined their daugh-
ters for an evening of fun, inspiration and
recognition. Following a light supper, a
performance by some of the special needs
children and their volunteers provided
entertainment.
Guest speaker Leah Lipsker, who heads a
Friendship Circle in Stamford, Conn.,
spoke about the positive impact the organ-
ization makes in the lives of both the spe-
cial needs families and the teens.
Dina Hochheiser of Oak Park, a Beth
Jacob School senior, told about her four
years volunteering with Friendship Circle.
"The love you give comes back to you,"
she said. Then her mother, Bracha
Hochheiser, spoke, gushing with pride
over her daughter's work with the group.
A taped message was played from
Michele Harris of West Bloomfield, moth-
er of a special needs child. She expressed
heartfelt gratitude for the program, calling
her child's volunteer "an American hero."
To end the evening on a light note, a Quiz
Bowl-type game tested how well moms
knew their daughters.
At the program's end, each teen received
one of the orange-hooded sweatshirts.
"They're so cool," said Marisa Gruber,
of Southfield. "I bought orange nail polish
to match."
Gruber, a 7th grader at Yeshivat Akiva in
Southfield, joins Friendship Circle's
Sunday Circle at the Jewish Community
Center in West Bloomfield, where teens
enjoy a variety of activities with their spe-
cial friends. Marisa meets with Cloe, a 4-
year-old with cerebral palsy.
"I've fallen in love with her," Gruber
said. "She's so adorable. When I see Cloe
smile, it's so amazing."
Gruber's classmate Emma Teger of
Southfield meets at Sunday Circle with
Lauren, a 15-year-old from Farmington
Hills. "We join the art group, play air
hockey and sing songs together," Teger
said. "Lauren is friendly to everybody, but
we have a special connection."
Bassie Shemtov, Friendship Circle
director, said, "We wanted the moms to
get nachas (joy). They're raising such
awesome kids. Even at the busiest time
in their lives they find time to give to
someone else." ❑
To contact Friendship Circle, call
(248) 788-7878:
From top:
Volunteer Danniel Nadiv,
14, of Huntington Woods, a
10th grader at the Jewish
Academy of Metropolitan
Detroit, and her mom,
Shelly, share a mother-daugh-
ter moment.
Volunteers Frayda Kresch, a
senior at the Jewish Academy,
Malky Kresch, a junior high
student at Beth Jacob School
for Girls, and Emma Teager,
a junior high student at
Yeshivat Akiva, use their
creativity to decorate vases.
Members of the Morrie and
Sybil Fenkell Volunteer Club
of the Friendship Circle sport
orange sweatshirts reading "I
Make a Difference,
So Can You."