FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE OF CLEVELAND INC

To bring friends and smiles to children with special needs and peace of mind to their parents. To help boost the social and life-skills tools for a child's greater future success in life. To foster the values of volunteerism and compassion among our youth. To ultimately realize the community's responsibility for its members with special needs.

Friendship Circle recruits high school volunteers, and inspires them to enrich a young person's life
as a special friend and role model. Educational orientations, guidance and ongoing supervision equip the teens with proper tools to maximize the benefits of their volunteerism.

Strong bonds are formed between the children and teens through interactions at Friendship Circle's array of 20+ social, recreational and educational programs.

Friendship Circle connects families to a welcoming, affirming community, through myriads of social and recreational programs. The vast majority of programs are fused with pairing the children with typical children peers, or older teen buddies.

Friendship Circle of Cleveland has a track record of working to connect children with special needs with teen volunteers since 2003. In 2017, revenue from contributions exceeded 1 million dollars, enabling the hiring of highly qualified staff to improve and expand the programs, and volunteer base. Friendship Circle has a unique edge in the fact that it shares resources with approximately 80 locations around the world.

Thanks to extensive community support, the thousands of hours of friendship experiences are brightening the lives of children who contend with significant challenges while building their social skills and confidence.

Countless families have testified to the dramatic life changes that have occurred as a result
of their children's Friendship Circle involvement.

Friendship Circle is strengthening the traits of compassion and community-mindedness
in its teen volunteers, while demonstrating the impact they can make on the world, one child at a time!