FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE SD INC

Founded and run by local parents of children with special needs, we have been providing services and programs for the special needs community since 2005. With the generous assistance of friends like you, FC is able to provide most of these needed services free of charge to our families with special needs. We currently serve 150 such families with the assistance of our specially-trained teenage and adult volunteers. FC creates meaningful and lasting connections between families with special needs children, teens and adults and their non-disabled peers. Using a unique approach to recreational and social inclusion, teen and adult volunteers share in weekly activities and community celebrations with individuals with disabilities. Deep bonds develop and barriers disappear. From being different and misunderstood, deprived of the basic fun of play to feeling the joy of having a special friend and being part of a group, those with special needs experience the most fundamental necessity of all: friendship. Through outreach and training in the community, FC is able to educate the community about the valuable contributions individuals with differences have to offer when we include them in our congregations, workplaces and social events.