On Sunday, June 2, the greater Hartford community came together to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Friendship Circle of Greater Hartford with a day of fun held on the campus of the Hebrew High School of New England in West Hartford.

At the Friendship Circle celebration: (front) Mushka Gopin and Bayle Krulewitz; (back, l to r) Jamie Roland, Alex Fishman, Ethan Freund, Erica Propis, Emily Burstein, Brenda Winn

A project of Chabad of Greater Hartford, the Friendship Circle provides children, teens and young adults with special needs with a wide range of educational and social programs in a Jewish environment. Aided by a group of dedicated teen volunteers, Friendship Circle programs include home visits, holiday programs, life-skills building and sibling support — plus support to families facing the challenges of raising a child with special needs.

“The Friendship Circle strives not only to spread awareness and inclusion for all,” said Rabbi Shaya Gopin, “but to celebrate each individual for who they are!”

“I never understood how important a friendship could be until I got involved with Friendship Circle” said Helena Roland, a rising senior at Hall High School in West Hartford, who was recently nominated as the incoming president of the Friendship Circle Teen Leadership Board. “Before Friendship Circle, Jamie [Helena’s brother and a Friendship Circle participant] spent every hour beside my mother, while now he spends his days going to movies with Mark Molinaro or lounging on the couch, eating cookies, and singing a variety of songs with Ethan Freund and Alex Fishman.”

For more information visit www.FriendshipCircleCT.com.

At the Friendship Circle celebration: (front) Mushka Gopin and Bayle Krulewitz; (back, l to r) Jamie Roland, Alex Fishman, Ethan Freund, Erica Propis, Emily Burstein, Brenda Winn