The Friendship Circle's Annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner, which took place on June 10th at the Showbox Sodo Theater, was an unprecendented success.  We extend our warmest thanks to all of our guests!  By attending, making donations, raising your paddles, and purchasing ads in our journal, you helped the Friendship Circle grow. 

We would like to express our gratitude to this year's amazing Dinner Chairs, Barbara Maduell, Alayne Sulkin, and Marcy Gillman, who planned and organized this special evening.  To our Volunteer of the Year, Juliana Gamel, and to her parents, our dear friends Joey and Lori, we  again thank you for your unfaltering commitment to the Friendship Circle.

We feel so fortunate to have such kind and enthusiastic teen volunteers, and to be a part of such a supportive community.   To every teen, parent, and community member who contributed to the Friendship Circle this year, we say Todah Rabah!  Thank you for our best dinner yet.

 Be sure to check out pictures of the event in our Photo Album! >>>

Kol HaKavod, Juliana!  Volunteer of the Year Juliana Gamel recieves her award alongside her parents, Joey and Lori, and the Friendship Circle Directors.

Wow...  All of those phone calls and emails really paid off. The Friendship Circle just won a $20,000 grant through Chase's Community Giving Campaign on Facebook!

With a whopping 1,857 votes, our Friendship Circle came in 72nd out of the thousands of charities in the competition. Chase's grant means that we can now add a full-time Programming Assistant to our staff, allowing us to expand our programs in new ways. This growth will help us achieve many of our long-term goals, such as developing "Sibshops," programs designed for brothers and sisters of children with special needs.  And best of all, we now have the personnel and resources necessary to welcome additional families into our network.

Thank you very much for voting, and for encouraging your family and friends to do the same. We couldn't have achieved this without you!  An extra special thank you goes to those teen volunteers who used their Facebook savvy to help us win big.  High five, Friendship Circle Community!