WEST HARTFORD, Connecticut—Close to 75 Hartford area teens took part in the fall kick-off event of the Friendship Circle of Greater Hartford — a group dedicated to creating friendships between young people with and without special needs. The Sunday afternoon event centered around prep for what was then the upcoming Rosh Hashanah holiday, and also included the official introduction of the teen board for the 2022-23 year. 

In addition to sensitivity training, that included hearing from a parent of a child with special needs and ways to communicate with someone who is nonverbal, the teens in attendance each had the opportunity to create their own shofar. Students were instructed to choose a horn to saw, drill, and sand into a handcrafted shofar. They soon learned, however, that it was too difficult to complete the task on their own. When shown how to assemble the shofar in pairs, the messages of the universal need for help and the power of teamwork rang out loud and clear. 

Teens didn’t have to wait long to put their newly acquired skills to use when, just a week later, on Sept. 18, Friendship Circle hosted a shofar factory for young adults with special needs. The group also made honey cake and learned the sequence of sounds created by blowing the shofar.

Friendship Circle brings together toddlers and young adults with and without special needs for a variety of Judaic and social programming. At the heart of the organization is a group of dedicated teenage volunteers from local high schools who give freely of their time, devotion and unconditional love and support.  Inspired by the magic of genuine friendship and further understanding, Friendship Circle members are encouraged to see the abilities in others, empowering everyone to develop a more accommodating and welcoming Jewish community for all. 

The Friendship Circle of Greater Hartford was launched in the fall of 2009 by Chabad of Greater Hartford. It began with two groups —14 years later Friendship circle has multiple programs and over 100 members. 

To find out more, visit www.FriendshipCircleCT.com, email Info@FriendshipCircleCT.com, or call (860) 833-4035.