Garden Party Held in Beverly Hills

On Wednesday, May 17th, in the beautiful gardens of the Nissel home in Beverly Hills, the Friendship Circle of Los Angeles celebrated their incredible 485 volunteers at the annual Garden Party.

Under the night sky in the cool breeze, 420 guests enjoyed a wonderful evening with fun and fresh dinner and appetizers by “Let’s Have a Cart Party”!

The homemade babka bar topped off the night with delectable flavors. The photo and Instagram booths were buzzing with activity as guests stopped by to snap fun photos with their friends.

Volunteers each received an ever useful gift of a portable phone charger as a small thank you for all their amazing work. The night culminated an incredible year, with the ceremony highlighting community service and inclusion.

Noah Lee, a senior at Beverly Hills High, was presented with the Heart and Soul Award. The award is presented to a volunteer that has displayed consistent dedication and a passion for developing their friendship with a special child. Noah was awarded for his five amazing years at Friendship Circle, for truly giving of himself physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He spoke about the heart-warming story of his friendship with Noah and Shane, two young brothers, whom he has been visiting weekly since he was 13.

Noah shared, “the journey to establishing an unbreakable friendship with Noah and Shane taught me how to be flexible, to go with the flow, and how simply putting others first can make a huge difference.” We were honored to have Noah and wish him much success continuing to make a difference in his year of study in Israel next year.

Two volunteers, Rochel Cunin and Batya Kessler, were then humbly surprised as they were called upon to receive the Hineini Award. The Hineini Award is presented to outstanding volunteers who step up to assist Friendship Circle in multiple programs and roles, who can be counted on consistently and help with enthusiasm and expertise.

Aside for Rochel and Batya’s volunteering in Hebrew School with Josh and Kai, their positive attitude and willingness to help whenever there was a need, shows on their extra effort to go above-and-beyond in their commitment. Rochel and Batya were pleasantly surprised and we are forever grateful for all they have done at Friendship Circle.

This year, Friendship Circle celebrated a special new program, made possible by a grant from the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, the Mitzvah Volunteer Program. 19 MVP graduates were recognized for dedicating their time to learning more about how to give back to and make an impact on the community. Through this program, students were able to learn more about how to interact appropriately with children who have special needs and their particular disabilities.

The video presentation about MVP showed a glimpse into how much the graduates have achieved. The 6th and 7th graders of MVP stood proudly, wearing their exclusive MVP sports jackets, with excitement and determination to build new friendships and make a difference in the coming year at Friendship Circle.

The highlight of the evening was Joseph Volfman, a 17 year-old athlete who participated in this year’s Miami marathon, inspired with his powerful speech about growing up with cerebral palsy and learning how to cycle when he was 12 years old. After being gifted a custom bike through a volunteer at Friendship Circle in New Jersey, Joseph discovered a whole new world of activities and sports to get involved in. He now is training for the Paralympics in 2020 and trains at least 3 hours a day. Joseph also shared his experience from the Miami marathon, where he cycled through the cold and rainy Florida morning weather to spread the important message to all children with disabilities that they can do it too. He showed us how to take the dis out of “disability” and make it a real ability.

Estie Rav-Noy, daughter of Rabbi Michy and Miriam, was recognized for her many years of partnering in her parents’ work and for taking initiative to bring Team Friendship LA to the Miami marathon for the first time this year.

The 6 marathon runners were each presented with personalized photos of the moment they crossed the finish line and recognized for their incredible effort to raise awareness and $20,000 for this important cause.

The Outstanding Alumni Award was presented to Afsoun Orit and Jonathan Delshad. Jonathan shared an inspiring Torah thought and Orit shared her experiences as a volunteer at Friendship Circle.

Through a video interview of Orit from over 10 years ago at FCLA, she shared her meaningful words about how Friendship Circle is, after all, a never-ending cycle of friendship and love. When you give to your special friend, the love passes on to their family, and back to you. She expressed her vision now, as a mother and wife, her passion for ensuring that this message will be transmitted to her children and generations to come.

Once again, the Fellowship Award was presented to over 35 volunteers who have dedicated countless hours to spend time with their special friends and further their knowledge in the field of special education. Each volunteer was called up and presented with a beautiful glass trophy for their tremendous commitment. They wished farewell to seniors and ended the evening with a resounding happy birthday to the mother of honoree, Mrs. Esmaelzadeh and Program Director, Miriam Rav-Noy.

“All in all, it was definitely an evening to remember. So many amazing people came and we are so grateful for our volunteers, who one by one, are making a huge difference in the lives of so many children,” said Miriam Rav-Noy. “We thank all those who came out to support us and look forward to many more years together full of growth and opportunities for our special friends and volunteers.”