Ari Kraut Friendship Circle volunteers participate in an orientation session at the group’s 2008-09 kickoff party on Sunday, Sept. 14, at the Chabad of Western Monmouth County in Manalapan.
Photo courtesy Chana’le Wolosow
September 23, 2008
Karate, yoga, art, cooking, and visits from friendly teens are among a plethora of activities being offered to local special-needs children through the Ari Kraut Friendship Circle.
To launch the program’s new year — named for a former Manalapan resident and community volunteer who died at age 28 — more than 75 volunteers gathered Sept. 14 at the Chabad of Western Monmouth County in Manalapan to enlist in the effort to benefit the special needs youngsters and their families.
The program matches trained volunteers with special-needs children who live in the county’s western region.
Marking its second year at the western Monmouth Chabad, the program is an affiliate of the hasidic outreach movement that sponsors the international Friendship Circle organization.
Every week, this year’s teenage volunteers will pair up to visit the special-needs children at their homes and help escort the children to events at the Chabad house on Wickatunk Road and other venues, said Chana’le Wolosow of Manalapan, the group’s director.
This year a dose of technology has been added to the mix: a series of “webinars” for Friendship Circle parents to educate them about such topics as autism and family and community response to children with disabilities.
The first of 12 planned Internet broadcasts took place on Sept. 7; it focused on a father’s methods of coping with, and finding resources for, his autistic son. Information on future topics and broadcast dates is available at www.friendsnj.com.
“The webinars will provide parents with information that will help them cope with their children’s special problems,” Wolosow told NJ Jewish News. “They will also provide them with an emotional outlet. Parents of special-needs children often feel a sense of isolation. In addition to providing factual information, these broadcasts will stress that they aren’t alone — there are others who understand what they’re going through and who are willing to share their experiences.”
And there will be no shortage of activities for the 74 special-needs participants. In addition to the teens’ home visits, which provide the children with much-needed companionship, there will be karate, yoga, art, and cooking programs conducted at the Chabad house by trained experts in these fields, Wolosow said.
Other programs will include activities for high-functioning special-needs children, who also will learn the meaning of social action by putting together Jewish holiday food baskets for community members.
There also will be a birthday club, in which volunteers will bring balloons and cake to the homes of the special-needs children, and gymnastics and dance programs are under development.
The Friendship Circle is also setting up a sibling support group. “Because of all the responsibilities that go along with having special-needs children, the extra demands on their parents’ time can be enormous,” Wolosow said. “Sometimes the brothers and sisters of these children don’t get the attention that they need. We hope the support group, which we want to schedule once every six weeks, will give their siblings a chance to express their feelings in a calm and supportive atmosphere.”
Call 732-536-2319 for additional information about the Ari Kraut Friendship Circle, or visit www.friendsnj.com.
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