2 Everyone Needs Friends to Thrive WRITTEN BY SARI WEISS • PHOTOS BY LISI WOLF K now the feeling you get when you’re around 1 friends who really care for you, who really love you, who really see you? The state of being friends collectively contributes to the rich tapestry of interpersonal relationships needed for everyone--especially children, teens, and young adults-to thrive. Every person deserves this, regardless of ability. The Friendship Circle of Washington creates opportunities for friendship and connection for kids, teens, and young adults with disabilities. Students at Bellevue High, and in 47 other local area schools, are doing just this! The impetus for high schoolers to volunteer comes through many avenues. Sometimes it is family initiated and other times it’s to meet the required school service hours for graduation. Whatever the reason, the fact that over 200 teens across King County volunteer with Friendship Circle and become lifelong friends with kids they might not otherwise have met is amazing. Truly! Friendship is contagious and love is authentic when kids see each other without barriers, where all people are special, interesting, and important. Teen volunteers come back again and again because they, too, feel connection and love. Friendship matters because everyone matters. Trust is at the center of Friendship Circle for parents of children with disabilities. A parent of a child or children with special needs has one primary focus - keeping their child alive and safe. Parents of children with special needs have so many responsibilities, including managing medications, treatments, and therapies, which oftentimes adds extra stress to already busy daily lives 1 / Andrew, Newport High School with his teen volunteer Colson Wiley. 2 / Orli Kalman (left) Bellevue HS and ____ (right) school, with their buddy, Charlotte. 3 / Isabelle Boparai (right) Bellevue High School and Ayden Nov (left) Mercer Island HS and their buddy, Ford and makes it harder to care for the entire family. So, when an organization like Friendship Circle shows up on their radar and offers the gift of emotional connection and true friendship for their child to experience, the response is beyond measure. These friendships are more precious than gold to participating families. What’s the special sauce of Friendship Circle? It starts 3 24 April 2024 by envisioning a world in which people with special needs and their families experience acceptance and friendship as contributing members of society. It continues with the aspiration for a future where they always enjoy social inclusion and fair treatment, free from the challenges of social isolation or inequality. Bellevue High students actively participate in two of the multitude of programs offered through Friendship Circle - Sunday Circle and Teen & Young Adult Life Skills. • Sunday Circle meets the urgent need for socialemotional skill-building and societal inclusion for children ages 5-18 with disabilities. Throughout each two-hour, twice-monthly Sunday Circle, participant-teen volunteer matches rotate through 5 rooms, each housing a different therapeutic recreational activity. Certain activities are present at every Sunday Circle: music therapy, sports, movement therapy, STEM activities, and art. Other activities are occasional and are hosted by special guests. All activities are strategically designed by experts in the special needs field to facilitate friendship and hard and soft skill-building. • Teen & Young Adult Life Skills addresses the need for social inclusion, life skills development, and digital literacy education that leads to self-reliance, successful integration into the wider world, and overall improved quality of life. Supported by a team of professionals in special needs education, participants refine their ability to successfully navigate social situations and critical life and digital skills activities through an engaging,
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