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Super Bowl Party

Teens socialize at BBYO Winter

Kickoff event during the big game.

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n Super Bowl Sunday, more than 300 Jewish teens in grades 8-12 gath-
ered at the West Bloomfield Jewish Community Center Teen Center for
the ultimate Super Bowl party hosted by BBYO Michigan Region.
Along with a showing of the game in the Teen Center's private movie theater,
teens watched the Puppy Bowl, took snapshots in the event photo booth, enjoyed
delicious snacks and made new friends. The event served as BBYO's annual
Winter Kickoff, which allows eighth-graders and non-members to find out more
about BBYO and gives them the opportunity to meet teens from different BBYO
chapters. Eighth-graders are now eligible to join BBYO.
For more information about BBYO or to register for membership, contact
More than 300 teens packed the JCC Teen Center to watch the game and hang out with old
Katie Fried (BBG, girls) at (248) 432-5685 or Ben Goutkovitch (AZA, boys) at
friends
and new ones, too.
(248) 432-5686.

❑

Jeremy Benyamin, Chloe Kowalsky,
Sebastian Mandell and Daniel
Michaels get ready for the big game.

Event coordinators Jenna
Weberman and Jake Feinbaum hand
out BBYO swag to guests.

Jessica Lusky, Liliyana Wolberg, Kyle

Zaback, Max Perlmuter and Matthew
Fealk socialize during the second
quarter.

A group of teens pose with props before
heading into the photo booth, presented by
Foto Fun LLC.

Unique
League

Friendship Circle hosts

league featuring special

needs and typically

abled players.

D

ozens of children and their
families gathered in late
January at the Friendship
Circle in West Bloomfield for an
extraordinary basketball game.
Friendship Circle partnered with
national sports firm 19 Inclusion
Sports to start the first-of-its-kind
basketball league in the country.
Children with special needs were
paired with typically abled partici-
pants in three age categories, Pee
Wee, Youth and Senior, represent-
ing ages 4-13. The league will run
through Sunday, March 30, with
games held each Sunday.
"There is a huge benefit for
both groups of children as the
more typically abled kids learn
empathy, teamwork and other real
life lessons," said Bassie Shemtov,
Friendship Circle director. "The idea
of this league is to promote inclu-

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March 6 • 2014

A team confers with their coach.

sion and compassion. Not every
young person who plays sports has
the desire or ability to play in the
more highly competitive leagues.
Sports are a great outlet, and we are
proud to be in on this ground-floor
opportunity.
"What was amazing to see was
that all of these children were on the
court, and you could not even tell
which were which:'
Dan Leach, sports talk show host
on 97.1 The Ticket and also play-
by-play announcer for the Detroit
Pistons and the Detroit Titans,
served as master of ceremonies and
announcer at the inaugural game.

❑

•

L4

Ian Zerkel of West Bloomfield takes a throw.

Conner Larson of Farmington Hills
and his coach

Noah Moberly of West Bloomfield

