'Typical' Teens Befriend Special Needs Kids

Ximena Moreno, 16, remembers the first time she met her "buddy" Luke at his house. It was her first time volunteering for children with special needs, and she was nervous.

But the experience turned out to be great. "We spent the evening playing video games and chatting," remembered Moreno. "Luke, who has autism, hates losing at games, and he lost the first game we played together. But he did not make a big deal about it. He was like 'OK, let's try again.' "

Moreno has been volunteering with special needs children for about a year through the Friendship Circle of South Bay in Redondo Beach. This program helps children with special needs build friendships, confidence and social skills.

In July, the group became one of 17 Chabad-Lubavitch programs across the United States to receive $20,000 after finishing among the top 200 charities in the Chase Community Giving competition on Facebook.

Jill Jensen, assistant program director and event coordinator of the local Friendship Circle, said the $20,000 will be divided among her group and six public schools that participate in the circle's programs. Some of the money will be used to prepare for the Pier2Pier fundraising walk to be held by the organization in October.

"One of our biggest efforts is teaching the special needs kids to be independent," said Jensen. "We want to change the way people view children with special needs. We want to show people that they also want to have fun and are amazing people with the ability to do things that other people do."

Friendship Circle works with people ages 3 to 30, and its programs are provided at little to no cost. With the recent budget cuts in school districts, Jensen said the organization's work has increased. "Over the last year I have been getting a lot of calls from health care providers asking us who we are and what we do so they can refer people to us."

Redondo Beach resident Mickey Pawlowski said her daughter, Erin, 23, has been able to attend many events because of the Friendship Circle. Erin has Rubinstein Taybi, a rare genetic disease that makes it necessary for her to undergo multiple surgeries on her foot, ear and eye. "It changed her own perception of what she is capable of doing," said Pawlowski. "But Friendship Circle has helped her lead a typical teenage life."

Because of the organization, Erin has been able to take part in activities such as going to the movies and the beach, playing baseball and basketball, going to Dodger games, and sports and surf camps. "You can't even put a dollar sign on what they [the volunteers] have done for our kids," said Pawlowski.

Nancy Dominguez, mother of 21-year-old Jacob, who has Down syndrome, said from the time her son was little, she wanted him to be included in activities with typical children. "When special needs kids get together, they don't really interact much with each other. But when the regular kids from Friendship Circle started coming into the special education classroom, and started meeting them at social events, they drew them out," she said.

Jacob showed tremendous progress when he began interacting with volunteers, Dominguez recalled. "He enjoyed the barbecues on the classroom patio, he loved playing foosball and dancing to music with the other kids," she said.

Interestingly, the program benefits the volunteers as much as it does the special needs children. Moreno said she is now considering a career working with children.

"We are dealt a hand of cards in life—some people are born with special needs," said Dominguez. "We need to embrace that part of reality and this is what the program teaches the regular kids. It helps people experience life and helps them develop qualities like compassion that we don't really see too much in the world anymore."