The Friendship Circle of Bergen County is taking registrations for its annual end-of-summer camp program, to run this year from August 22 through 26 at Lubavitch on the Palisades, 11 Harold Street in Tenafly, NJ. The Friendship Circle camp is for special needs children and teens, ages 5 through 16, and offers a variety of activities, music, games and sports, and daily fi eld trips. The camp will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and until 1 p.m. on that Friday. Approximately 40 children participate in the annual summer camp, which was started eight years ago. Registration closes on July 31.
Director Zeesy Grossbaum said that all activities are closely supervised and modified to accommodate each individual camper’s abilities. Field trips include visits to Legoland and Bowcraft Amusement Park and bowling.
“Friendship Circle camp transforms an ordinary week into something exciting and out of the ordinary for our campers,” said Grossbaum. “We make sure that everyone can participate in activities, led by our professional staff and volunteers.”
The campers are assisted on a one-to-one basis by a corps of teen volunteers in grades 7 through 12, many of whom work with Friendship Circle clients throughout the year at its various programs. The volunteers not only provide important personal attention for campers, they build meaningful relationships with them as well.
“Our teen volunteers are amazing and so dedicated,” said Grossbaum. “They tell me all the time that they get as much out of participating in Friendship Circle programs as our clients do.” The volunteers work throughout the school year at programssuch as Friends@Home, the organization’s Hebrew School, the winter break camp and more. Volunteer opportunities are listed on the organization’s website.
To register a child or teen for the Friendship Circle end-of-summer camp, contact Zeesy Grossbaum at 201-262-7172 or [email protected]. For more information about Friendship Circle’s programs for special needs children and their families, visit www.bcfriendship.com.
